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Back to the future: carbon dioxide chemoreceptors in the mammalian brain

Neurons that increase breathing in response to increased CO2 have long been sought along the ventral medullary surface, but not found, until now. Exquisitely CO2-sensitive neurons identified near this site may be the long-lost central chemoreceptors.

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Figure 1: CO2-sensitive neurons in the RTN.

Brad A. Hogdeman

Figure 2: Schematic representation of the distributed, state-dependent central chemoreceptor hypothesis1,12.

Brad A. Hogdeman

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Mitchell, G. Back to the future: carbon dioxide chemoreceptors in the mammalian brain. Nat Neurosci 7, 1288–1290 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1204-1288

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