Gc. Woodyatt et Be. Murdoch, THE EFFECT OF THE PRESENTATION OF VISUAL AND AUDITORY-STIMULI ON THE BREATHING PATTERNS OF 2 GIRLS WITH RETT-SYNDROME, JIDR. Journal of intellectual disability research, 40, 1996, pp. 252-259
The respiration patterns of individuals with Rea syndrome are known to
be dysrhythmic during wakefulness, suggesting cortical involvement of
brainstem respiratory control. To investigate this involvement furthe
r. the waking breathing patterns of two girls with Rett syndrome were
analysed during three phases: a quiet phase, and two phases during whi
ch visual and auditory stimuli were presented in controlled intervals.
Differences were noted between the two subjects' respiratory patterns
in both the quiet and stimulation phases. The usual quiet respiration
patterns became more dysrhythmic for both girls during stimulation, w
ith shortened breathing cycles and lengthened apnoeic pauses for the o
ne subject, and increased numbers of apnoeic pauses and shallower brea
ths for the other. These results suggest that the cyclical brainstem c
ontrol of breathing patterns in Rett syndrome may be subject to disrup
tion as a result of cortical influences, including arousal subsequent
to the engagement attention.