In the human body, all life processes are regulated. Nature provides for two mechanisms that are used for this purpose - the nervous and humoral. It is with their help that breathing is also regulated.
Respiration is a vital process in our body. The respiratory system provides the exchange of CO2 and O2 between the body and the external environment. This important vital function is regulated by numerous central nervous system neurons, which are located in several parts of the brain and are combined into the generalized concept of the "respiratory center". It is affected by nerve and humoral stimuli, while the adaptation of the function of the actual breathing to environmental conditions, which are constantly changing.
Nervous regulation of respiration
Structures that are simply necessary for the occurrence of respiratory rhythms were first found in the medulla oblongata. Its destruction leads to respiratory arrest. The cerebral cortex is directly involved in the regulation of respiration. That is why the respiratory center is in constant activity. Rhythmic impulses of excitement arise in it and rhythmic activity is recorded. Then, impulses from the center are transmitted by centrifugal neurons to the respiratory muscles and diaphragm. Thus, the alternation of exhalation and inhalation in our body. With painful irritation, irritation of blood vessel receptors or irritation of organs located in the abdominal cavity, a change in breathing occurs completely reflexively.
So, if you inhale the vapors of ammonia, the receptors of the nasopharyngeal mucosa will be irritated, this can lead to a reflex delay in the respiratory process. This is the body's defense, which works to prevent harmful gas from entering the lungs. Regulation of respiration occurs when nerve impulses come from the respiratory muscles and receptors located in the lungs themselves. The depth of exhalation and inspiration depends on these impulses.
The regulation of breathing also helps the body adapt to environmental changes, for example, holding the breath, a person can independently change his rhythm and depth. In athletes, it is the influence of the cerebral cortex that explains the pre-start changes in breathing, its rapidity and deepening before the start of the competition.
Humoral regulation of respiration.
The chemical composition of blood, namely, its gas composition, affects the center of respiration. Accumulating in the blood, carbon dioxide irritates the receptors in blood vessels that carry blood to the head and excites the respiratory center based on reflexes. Other products with high acidity, which enter the bloodstream, such as lactic acid, also act. Its content increases in the blood during muscle work. This response of the respiratory center to a change in the state of the body due to the influence of the external environment occurs instantly, in a matter of fractions of a second. Perhaps this way our body worries about our state of health and warns of future or impending danger. The humoral regulation can rightfully be called the most ancient form of interaction of our organs with cells.
Also, many of the necessary functions in our body are regulated by hormones. These are highly active and so necessary substances for the body that are produced by the endocrine glands. The secretory cells of the glands in contact with the walls of the blood vessels. That is why hormones quickly penetrate the blood. Their effect on the body is significant.
As you can see, both nervous and humoral regulation are of great importance for the whole organism, and not just for the respiratory system.