Background: Upper airway obstruction and inadequate ventilation often arise during sedation and anesthesia by propofol. To estimate the influence of propofol (PP) on respiratory control, we studied its effect on the neural activity and the respiratory response caused by a brief (60 sec) respiratory arrest (RA) manifesting in the hypoglossal nerve (HG) and the phrenic nerve (PN) in rabbits.
Methods: Experiments were performed on adult rabbits vagotomized, paralyzed and ventilated artificially with 50% N2O, 50% oxygen and 0.