# Botzinger complex

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{{Short description|Group of neurons located in rostral ventrolateral medulla, and ventral respiratory column}}
In mammals, the '''Bötzinger complex''' ('''BötC''') is a group of mainly expiratory neurons located within the ventral respiratory column in the [rostral ventrolateral medulla](/source/rostral_ventrolateral_medulla) (immediately caudal to the facial nucleus and ventral to the compact formation of the [nucleus ambiguus](/source/nucleus_ambiguus)).<ref name="pmid3256618">{{cite journal| vauthors=Bianchi AL, Grélot L, Iscoe S, Remmers JE| title=Electrophysiological properties of rostral medullary respiratory neurones in the cat: an intracellular study. | journal=J Physiol | year= 1988 | volume= 407 | pages= 293–310 | pmid=3256618 | doi= 10.1113/jphysiol.1988.sp017416| pmc=1191204 }}</ref><ref name="pmid3034989">{{cite journal| vauthors=Otake K, Sasaki H, Mannen H, Ezure K| title=Morphology of expiratory neurons of the Bötzinger complex: an HRP study in the cat. | journal=J Comp Neurol | year= 1987 | volume= 258 | issue= 4 | pages= 565–79 | doi=10.1002/cne.902580407 | pmid=3034989  }}</ref>

==Function==
The Bötzinger complex plays an important role in controlling breathing<ref name="pmid1773353">{{cite journal| vauthors=Bongianni F, Corda M, Fontana GA, Pantaleo T| title=Reciprocal connections between rostral ventrolateral medulla and inspiration-related medullary areas in the cat. | journal=Brain Res | year= 1991 | volume= 565 | issue= 1 | pages= 171–4 | doi= 10.1016/0006-8993(91)91751-l| pmid=1773353  }}</ref><ref name="pmid10963771">{{cite journal| author=Guyenet PG| title=Neural structures that mediate sympathoexcitation during hypoxia. | journal=Respir Physiol | year= 2000 | volume= 121 | issue= 2–3 | pages= 147–62 | doi= 10.1016/s0034-5687(00)00125-0| pmid=10963771  }}</ref> and response to hypoxia.<ref name="pmid9284071">{{cite journal| vauthors=Hirooka Y, Polson JW, Potts PD, Dampney RA| title=Hypoxia-induced Fos expression in neurons projecting to the pressor region in the rostral ventrolateral medulla. | journal=Neuroscience | year= 1997 | volume= 80 | issue= 4 | pages= 1209–24 | doi= 10.1016/s0306-4522(97)00111-5| pmid=9284071  }}</ref><ref name="pmid10209238">{{cite journal| vauthors=Nitsos I, Walker DW| title=The distribution of FOS-immunoreactive neurons in the brainstem, midbrain and diencephalon of fetal sheep in response to acute hypoxia in mid and late gestation. | journal=Brain Res Dev Brain Res | year= 1999 | volume= 114 | issue= 1 | pages= 9–26 | doi= 10.1016/s0165-3806(99)00010-3| pmid=10209238  }}</ref> It consists primarily of glycinergic neurons<ref name="pmid19238427">{{cite journal| vauthors=Winter SM, Fresemann J, Schnell C, Oku Y, Hirrlinger J, Hülsmann S| title=Glycinergic interneurons are functionally integrated into the inspiratory network of mouse medullary slices. | journal=Pflügers Arch | year= 2009 | volume= 458 | issue= 3 | pages= 459–69 | pmid=19238427 | doi=10.1007/s00424-009-0647-1 | pmc=2691554 }}</ref> which inhibit the activity of inspiratory neurons. In the respiratory cycle, Bötzinger neurons show mainly E-augmenting or E-decrementing activity.<ref name="pmid3821744">{{cite journal| vauthors=Richter A, Heyne K, Sagebiel J, Weber M| title=[Respiratory emergency in the newborn infant: extreme laryngotracheo-esophageal cleft (esophagotrachea)]. | journal=Monatsschr Kinderheilkd | year= 1986 | volume= 134 | issue= 12 | pages= 874–7 | pmid=3821744  }}</ref><ref name="pmid6757372">{{cite journal| author=Richter DW| title=Generation and maintenance of the respiratory rhythm. | journal=J Exp Biol | year= 1982 | volume= 100 | issue=1 | pages= 93–107 | doi=10.1242/jeb.100.1.93 | pmid=6757372  | bibcode=1982JExpB.100...93R }}</ref><ref name="pmid7250385">{{cite journal| author=Merrill EG| title=Where are the real respiratory neurons? | journal=Fed Proc | year= 1981 | volume= 40 | issue= 9 | pages= 2389–94 | pmid=7250385  }}</ref>

==Name==
The Bötzinger complex was named by the participants of a scientific meeting held in [Hirschhorn](/source/Hirschhorn_(Neckar)) in 1980 after a bottle of white wine named [Botzinger](/source/Botzinger) present at the dinner table during the conference dinner.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's so inspiring about respiration? {{!}} UCLA Health |url=https://www.uclahealth.org/news/release/whats-so-inspiring-about-respiration |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=www.uclahealth.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Connections==
The Bötzinger Complex has projections to:
* Phrenic pre-motor neurons in the medulla<ref name="pmid2226695">{{cite journal| vauthors=Jiang C, Lipski J| title=Extensive monosynaptic inhibition of ventral respiratory group neurons by augmenting neurons in the Bötzinger complex in the cat. | journal=Exp Brain Res | year= 1990 | volume= 81 | issue= 3 | pages= 639–48 | doi= 10.1007/bf02423514| pmid=2226695  }}</ref>
* Phrenic [motor neurons](/source/Motor_neuron) in the cervical spinal cord<ref name="pmid3169184">{{cite journal| vauthors=Otake K, Sasaki H, Ezure K, Manabe M| title=Axonal projections from Bötzinger expiratory neurons to contralateral ventral and dorsal respiratory groups in the cat. | journal=Exp Brain Res | year= 1988 | volume= 72 | issue= 1 | pages= 167–77 | doi= 10.1007/bf00248512| pmid=3169184  }}</ref><ref name="pmid9776513">{{cite journal| vauthors=Tian GF, Peever JH, Duffin J| title=Bötzinger-complex expiratory neurons monosynaptically inhibit phrenic motoneurons in the decerebrate rat. | journal=Exp Brain Res | year= 1998 | volume= 122 | issue= 2 | pages= 149–56 | doi= 10.1007/s002210050502| pmid=9776513  }}</ref>
* The [dorsal respiratory group](/source/dorsal_respiratory_group) (DRG) <ref name="pmid3169184"/><ref name="pmid7407571">{{cite journal| vauthors=Lipski J, Merrill EG| title=Electrophysiological demonstration of the projection from expiratory neurones in rostral medulla to contralateral dorsal respiratory group. | journal=Brain Res | year= 1980 | volume= 197 | issue= 2 | pages= 521–4 | doi= 10.1016/0006-8993(80)91140-3| pmid=7407571  }}</ref> 
* [Ventral respiratory group](/source/Ventral_respiratory_group) (VRG)<ref name="pmid2226695"/><ref name="pmid3169184"/><ref name="pmid8227518">{{cite journal| vauthors=Bryant TH, Yoshida S, de Castro D, Lipski J| title=Expiratory neurons of the Bötzinger Complex in the rat: a morphological study following intracellular labeling with biocytin. | journal=J Comp Neurol | year= 1993 | volume= 335 | issue= 2 | pages= 267–82 | doi=10.1002/cne.903350210 | pmid=8227518  }}</ref>
* [Pre-Bötzinger complex](/source/Pre-B%C3%B6tzinger_complex)<ref name="pmid24382872">{{cite journal| vauthors=Richter DW, Smith JC| title=Respiratory rhythm generation in vivo. | journal=Physiology | year= 2014 | volume= 29 | issue= 1 | pages= 58–71 | pmid=24382872 | doi=10.1152/physiol.00035.2013 | pmc= 3929116}}</ref>
* Bötzinger  complex itself <ref name="pmid3034989"/><ref name="pmid3169184"/><ref name="pmid12687375">{{cite journal| vauthors=Shen L, Li YM, Duffin J| title=Inhibitory connections among rostral medullary expiratory neurones detected with cross-correlation in the decerebrate rat. | journal=Pflügers Arch | year= 2003 | volume= 446 | issue= 3 | pages= 365–72 | doi=10.1007/s00424-003-1024-0 | pmid=12687375  }}</ref><ref name="pmid17913982">{{cite journal| vauthors=Smith JC, Abdala AP, Koizumi H, Rybak IA, Paton JF| title=Spatial and functional architecture of the mammalian brain stem respiratory network: a hierarchy of three oscillatory mechanisms. | journal=J Neurophysiol | year= 2007 | volume= 98 | issue= 6 | pages= 3370–87 | pmid=17913982 | doi=10.1152/jn.00985.2007 | pmc=2225347 }}</ref>
* Parabrachial [Kolliker-Fuse nucleus](/source/Kolliker-Fuse_nucleus)<ref name="pmid12507723">{{cite journal| vauthors=Ezure K, Tanaka I, Saito Y| title=Brainstem and spinal projections of augmenting expiratory neurons in the rat. | journal=Neurosci Res | year= 2003 | volume= 45 | issue= 1 | pages= 41–51 | doi= 10.1016/s0168-0102(02)00197-9| pmid=12507723  }}</ref>
Only augmenting expiratory neurons of BötC, which are exclusively glycinergic, project to the phrenic nucleus.<ref name="pmid10235646">{{cite journal| vauthors=Schreihofer AM, Stornetta RL, Guyenet PG| title=Evidence for glycinergic respiratory neurons: Bötzinger neurons express mRNA for glycinergic transporter 2. | journal=J Comp Neurol | year= 1999 | volume= 407 | issue= 4 | pages= 583–97 | doi= 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19990517)407:4<583::aid-cne8>3.0.co;2-e| pmid=10235646  }}</ref><ref name="pmid9776513"/>

Projections to the Bötzinger complex include the [nucleus tractus solitarii](/source/nucleus_tractus_solitarii) (NTS)<ref name="pmid18931046">{{cite journal| vauthors=Accorsi-Mendonça D, Bonagamba LG, Leão RM, Machado BH| title=Are L-glutamate and ATP cotransmitters of the peripheral chemoreflex in the rat nucleus tractus solitarius? | journal=Exp Physiol | year= 2009 | volume= 94 | issue= 1 | pages= 38–45 | doi=10.1113/expphysiol.2008.043653 | pmid=18931046  | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="pmid9861">{{cite journal| vauthors=Ruff F, Caubarrere I, Salem A, Dubois F, Duroux P| title=[Regional distribution of pulmonary perfusion during fluid overload in man]. | journal=Ann Anesthesiol Fr | year= 1975 | volume= 16 Spec No 2-3 | pages= 164–8 | pmid=9861  }}</ref> and VRG.<ref name="pmid1633274">{{cite journal| vauthors=Douse MA, Duffin J| title=Projections to Bötzinger expiratory neurons by dorsal and ventral respiratory group neurons. | journal=NeuroReport | year= 1992 | volume= 3 | issue= 5 | pages= 393–6 | doi= 10.1097/00001756-199205000-00004| pmid=1633274  }}</ref>

==Physiology==
These neurons may act as intrinsic pacemakers.<ref name="pmid24728679">{{cite journal| vauthors=Almado CE, Leão RM, Machado BH| title=Intrinsic properties of rostral ventrolateral medulla presympathetic and bulbospinal respiratory neurons of juvenile rats are not affected by chronic intermittent hypoxia. | journal=Exp Physiol | year= 2014 | volume= 99 | issue= 7 | pages= 937–50 | doi=10.1113/expphysiol.2013.077800 | pmid=24728679  | doi-access=free }}</ref> E-decrementing neurons display an initial burst of activity followed by decrease towards the end of expiration. Aug-E neurons begin firing during the E2 phase and end before the [phrenic nerve](/source/phrenic_nerve) burst.<ref name="pmid17913982"/><ref name="pmid24614747">{{cite journal| vauthors=Moraes DJ, Bonagamba LG, Costa KM, Costa-Silva JH, Zoccal DB, Machado BH| title=Short-term sustained hypoxia induces changes in the coupling of sympathetic and respiratory activities in rats. | journal=J Physiol | year= 2014 | volume= 592 | issue= Pt 9 | pages= 2013–33 | pmid=24614747 | doi=10.1113/jphysiol.2013.262212 | pmc= 4230776}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Brainstem
Category:Neuroanatomy
Category:Respiration

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Botzinger complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botzinger_complex) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botzinger_complex?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.