Apneustic respiration is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by deep, gasping inspiration with a pause at full inspiration followed by a brief, insufficient release.

Accompanying signs and symptoms may include decerebrate posturing

Abnormal posturing

Abnormal posturing is an involuntary flexion or extension of the arms and legs, indicating severe brain injury. It occurs when one set of muscles becomes incapacitated while the opposing set is not, and an external stimulus such as pain causes the working set of muscles to contract. The posturing...

; fixed, dilated pupils; coma

Coma

In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...

 or profound stupor

Stupor

Stupor is the lack of critical cognitive function and level of consciousness wherein a sufferer is almost entirely unresponsive and only responds to base stimuli such as pain. This is often mistaken for delirium and treated with Haldol and or other anti-psychotic drugs...

; quadriparesis; absent corneal reflex

Corneal reflex

The corneal reflex, also known as the blink reflex, is an involuntary blinking of the eyelids elicited by stimulation of the cornea , or bright light, though could result from any peripheral stimulus. Stimulation should elicit both a direct and consensual response...

; absent doll's eye sign; negative oculocephalic reflex; and obliteration of the gag reflex

Gag reflex

The pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex is a reflex contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the soft palate or sometimes the back of the tongue. It prevents something from entering the throat except as part of normal swallowing and helps prevent choking...

.

Causes

It is caused by damage to the pons

Pons

The pons is a structure located on the brain stem, named after the Latin word for "bridge" or the 16th-century Italian anatomist and surgeon Costanzo Varolio . It is superior to the medulla oblongata, inferior to the midbrain, and ventral to the cerebellum. In humans and other bipeds this means it...

 or upper medulla

Medulla oblongata

The medulla oblongata is the lower half of the brainstem. In discussions of neurology and similar contexts where no ambiguity will result, it is often referred to as simply the medulla...

 caused by strokes or trauma. Specifically, concurrent removal of input from the vagus nerve

Vagus nerve

The vagus nerve , also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X, is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves...

 and the pneumotaxic center

Pneumotaxic center

The pneumotaxic center , also known as the pontine respiratory group , is a network of neurons in the rostral dorsal lateral pons. It consists of the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus and the medial parabrachial nucleus....

 causes this pattern of breathing. It is an ominous sign, with a generally poor prognosis.

It can also be temporarily caused by some drugs, such as ketamine

Ketamine

Ketamine is a drug used in human and veterinary medicine. Its hydrochloride salt is sold as Ketanest, Ketaset, and Ketalar. Pharmacologically, ketamine is classified as an NMDA receptor antagonist...

.

External links

• About brain injury and functions
• http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/55/3/851.pdf