Yackle, Kevin, M.D., Ph.D

How do we automatically breathe? How do we coordinate our breathing with phonation? How is breathing stopped by opioids? How do I hold my breath

Breathing is a seemingly simple, vital behavior that occurs about 12 times each minute. Surprisingly, this fundamental rhythm originates from a cluster of just several thousand neurons. Now, we seek to identify the key neuron(s) within that pace breathing and to determine how they are innately and volitionally “turned on” or “off” to speed up or stop breathing. We also seek to determine how they respond to opioids that stop breathing, the cause of a public health epidemic since the 1990s.

Breathing is coordinated with many other behaviors, like speaking, swallowing, and chewing, and we seek to understand how the neural systems that create these behaviors are coordinated with breathing.