All parts of the brain › Breathing

What part of the brain controls breathing?

The brainstem, mainly the medulla oblongata. Its dorsal and ventral respiratory groups set the rhythm of each breath, with the pre-Bötzinger complex in the ventral group acting as the rhythm generator; the pontine respiratory group in the pons smooths the switch between breathing in and out. Breathing goes on without any thought, but the motor cortex can take over for a while, so you can hold your breath, sigh or speak. [1][2][3]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The list of parts still says what each one does for breathing.

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All 4 parts are lit together. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap a part on the brain or a name in the list to focus it; .

Breathing: 4 parts lit

Medulla oblongata, pons, brainstem and precentral gyrus. Tap one to see where it is and what it does.

The parts and their roles

Holds the dorsal respiratory group (in the nucleus of the solitary tract, mostly driving breathing in) and the ventral respiratory group, including the pre-Bötzinger complex that generates the breathing rhythm; chemoreceptors near its front surface sense carbon dioxide through the acidity of the surrounding fluid. [1][2][4] Where is the medulla oblongata?
Holds the pontine respiratory group (once called the pneumotaxic centre), in and near the parabrachial and Kölliker–Fuse nuclei of the upper pons, which cuts off each breath in and so sets how fast and deep breaths are; a region in the lower pons acts the other way and prolongs breathing in. [1] Where is the pons?
Contains the whole respiratory centre (medulla and pons together) and carries its output down to the spinal cord, where motor neurons drive the diaphragm through the phrenic nerve (from spinal segments C3 to C5) and the muscles between the ribs. [1][5] Where is the brainstem?
The primary motor cortex here allows voluntary control: when you hold your breath, take a deep breath or speak, signals run from the cortex straight to the breathing muscles’ motor neurons, bypassing the brainstem’s automatic rhythm for as long as you keep it up. [3][6] Where is the precentral gyrus?

How they work together

Carbon dioxide, not oxygen, is the main everyday driver: a rise in carbon dioxide makes the fluid around the medulla more acidic, the central chemoreceptors sense it and breathing gets faster and deeper. Oxygen is sensed mainly by the carotid and aortic bodies in the neck and chest, which report to the medulla through the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. [3][4][7]
Stretch receptors in the lungs also feed back: as the lungs fill, they signal through the vagus nerve to the medulla and help end the breath in (the Hering–Breuer reflex). [8]
An adult at rest breathes roughly 12 to 20 times a minute; each breath out at rest is mostly passive, the lungs and chest wall springing back, so the brainstem’s output drives mainly the breath in. [9][10]
The automatic rhythm wins in the end: holding your breath lets carbon dioxide build until the brainstem drive overrides the voluntary hold. [3]
Honest limit: the respiratory groups are small clusters of neurons with no separate piece on this model, so the whole medulla and pons light; the spinal cord, the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm and the carotid bodies are outside the model, and exactly how the pre-Bötzinger complex makes its rhythm is still being studied. [2][1]

Sources

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. A part lit here takes part in breathing; it does not do it alone, and it does other jobs too. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); on it the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla, so lighting the brainstem lights all three.