THE EFFECT OF THE PRESENTATION OF VISUAL AND AUDITORY-STIMULI ON THE BREATHING PATTERNS OF 2 GIRLS WITH RETT-SYNDROME

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.