Soft palate muscle activity in response to hypoxic hypercapnia.

We studied the effects of increasing respiratory drive on electromyographic (EMG) soft palate muscle (SPM) activity in nine anesthetized tracheostomy-breathing dogs during hypoxic hypercapnia (HH) with a 14% O2-8% CO2-78% N2 inspired gas mixture. Moving time average EMG activity was recorded from palatinus (PAL), levator veli palatini (LP), and tensor veli palatini (TP) muscles (with bipolar fine-wire electrodes) and diaphragm (DIA; with bipolar hook electrodes). During HH, peak inspiratory DIA activity increased from 18.8 +/- 1.3 to 30.1 +/- 2.0 arbitrary units and minute ventilation increased from 6.2 +/- 0.3 to 18.3 +/- 1.8 l/min (both P < 0.001). Phasic inspiratory, expiratory, and/or tonic EMG activity was present in each SPM during room air breathing (control) and increased during HH (P < 0.05), except for phasic inspiratory PAL and phasic expiratory TP activities. Peak inspiratory LP and TP activities increased during HH to 250 and 179% of control, respectively, and peak expiratory activity increased to 187, 235, and 181% of control in PAL, LP, and TP, respectively. These findings demonstrate respiratory-related regulation of SPM activity independent of local reflex control from the upper airway. However, the combined inspiratory and expiratory phasic recruitment of these muscles differs from the inspiratory recruitment of known upper airway dilator muscles.