Respiratory physiology ventilation control

Chapter 11 presents models used to study the continual interaction of the respiratory mechanical system and pulmonary gas exchange. Traditionally, the respiratory system is described as a chemo-stat — ventilation increases with increased chemical stimulation. Alternatively, the author proposes that quantitative description of the respiratory central pattern generator, a network of neuronal clusters in the brain, is a much more sophisticated and realistic approach. Study of this dynamic, optimized controller of a nonlinear plant is interesting from both physiological and engineering perspectives, the latter due to applications of these techniques for new, intelligent control system design. 

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