Central Chemoreceptors

located at the base of the brain stem
monitor changes of Carbon Dioxide levels and send alarm signals to the brain, telling the lungs to breathe faster and more deeply
when we’re breathing too quickly, the receptors tell the body to breathe more slowly to increase Carbon Dioxide levels
Chemoreception is one the most fundamental functions of life
- first aerobic life forms had to sense carbon dioxide to avoid it
- as humans evolved chemoreception became more plastic
  - humans could adapt to changing environments
  - it it the ability to adapt to different levels of Carbon Dioxide and oxygen that helped humans colonize at different (and high) altitudes