The drive to breathe and sudden infant death syndrome

2 : L \ , 20 40 60 8 0 I00 , Respiratory failure has long been thought to be involved in STDS. The underlying mechanisms are unknown, but clearly there is some malfunction in control if breathing ceases during sleep, and arousal and hyperventilation do not occur, despite the development of asphyxia. Superimposed on the existing chemical drive to breathe, mechanoreflexes (discussed separately in a review by Greenough, pp. 50-2), thermoregulatory control and central nervous drive also come into play. Tn this review, we discuss new ideas of how this failure of “drive” may manifest itself and, in particular, how thermal and central nervous drives may have important consequences for chemical drive.