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"Our airway sensations are some of our most vital and powerful for survival, but a lot of the neural pathways within the airways are poorly understood. We found a fundamental pathway for how the body monitors lung openness and the efficiency of the respiratory system to control breathing," said lead author Michael Schappe, a research fellow in neurobiology at HMS.

As Schappe, Liberles, and their team began investigating the respiratory system, they realized there are many different types of neurons in the lungs, but little is known about what some of these neurons actually do.

To test whether such a reflex existed, Schappe led a series of experiments in mice that involved restricting their breathing and recording their physiologic reactions, as well as the response of neurons in their lungs.

NEB cells have been linked to certain human diseases that cause decreased lung function, but it was unexpected to find a connection between NEBs and the pathway through the vagus nerve that senses a reduction in lung volume, Schappe said.

"We want to understand the functions of these neurons and what they control physiologically so that ultimately we can figure out how they translate into internal sensations experienced by humans," Schappe said.