Respiratory Arrest From Seizure Discharges in Limbic System

IN 1899, Hughlings Jackson¹described respiratory arrest as part of the seizure pattern in a patient whose attacks, included sucking movements in addition to olfactory and gustatory sensations. He classified these seizres as uncinate fits because of his own clinical and pathological observations and because he was influenced by the previous experimental work of Spencer²in 1894. In several species of animals, Spencer consistently produced expiratory apnea by faradic stimuli applied near the uncus. Since then, a large body of experimental evidence has accumulated which shows that respiratory arrest can occur in the experimental animal and in man when a number of areas in the cerebral hemispheres are stimulated, both electrically and mechanically. The effects on respiration are variable and depend upon the species of animal, the anesthetic used, the type of stimulus, and structure stimulated. Arrest of respiration in expiration often occurs when the following structures