Influence of proprioceptor activity in the ventilatory response to exercise.

Abstract

To study the influence of proprioceptor activity in the ventilatory responses to exercise, ventilation was measured during fast and slow bicycle pedaling at equivalent work rates. The transient and steady-state ventilations were similar for comparable levels of O2 consumption at each pedaling period. It is concluded that the speed of leg motion does not affect the ventilatory response to exercise independent of the total work load. If the proprioceptor stimulus is frequency dependent, these results indicate that proprioceptor activity has little influence in the ventilatory response to exercise. The results do not rule out the possibility of a combination of frequency and force acting as a proprioceptor stimulus to ventilation.