Ethanol is one of the most widely used drugs in western society and worsens obstructive sleep apnea in humans. There are no studies, however, that distinguish between two primary mechanisms that could mediate suppression of genioglossus activity with ethanol.
We test the hypothesis that ethanol suppresses genioglossus activity by effects at the hypoglossal motor pool and/or by state-dependent regulation of motor activity via independent influences on sleep/arousal processes.
These data show that ethanol can suppress genioglossus by primary influences on state-dependent aspects of central nervous system function independent of effects on the respiratory network per se, a distinction not previously identified experimentally.
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