Effect of altered ventilations on human spinal and supra spinal reflexes.

The present study was aimed at evaluating the alterations in the human reflexes brought about by briefly altered ventilations. In 20 healthy young male volunteers, the H reflex and blink reflex were studied during normal ventilation, voluntary hypoventilation and voluntary hyperventilation. The latencies of these reflexes were compared. It was observed that the amount of altered ventilations used in the present study could not produce any significant change in these reflexes except in the case of the early response of the blink reflex.