Baertsch Lab

We are working to understand how the activation of opioid receptors affects breathing, to inspire new therapeutic strategies to prevent or reverse OIRD without eliminating the beneficial pain-killing effects of these drugs.

Breathing is driven by the coordinated activity of neurons in the brainstem, which continues to produce respiratory rhythms even when separated from the rest of the brain. We investigate the specific cell types and their properties and interactions that allow this network to produce rhythm.

We are working to identify the neural circuits and mechanisms that mediate state-dependent control and allow breathing to conditionally dissociate from its underlying automatic regulation.