We analyse a reduced version of the Grodins et al. control model [14] of respiration involving only CO2, andshow that it can be dramatically simplified by the use of judicious approximations. Inparticular, we show that the conceptual basis of the popular model of Mackey and Glass[20] is at odds with the important transportprocesses of the Grodins model. Despite this, a realistic approximation of the Grodinsmodel yields a Mackey-Glass type model with almost the same criterion for the onset ofCheyne-Stokes breathing.
While the reduced Grodins model does apparently provide a realistic mechanism forinstability, consideration of the buffering effect of the blood-brain barrier appears tomake it unlikely. We conclude that a realistic physiological model of Grodins type toexplain Cheyne–Stokes breathing is not yet in place, and raise the question whether thebicarbonate buffering system has a rôle to play.
