Neonatal maternal separation (NMS) augments the hypoxic ventilatory response. The first paper (Kinkead et al 2008) hypothesised that this effect was due to deficient inhibitory (GABAergic) neurotransmission in key respiratory regions such as the NTS. As you will see, this was not the case. We are now investigating the possibility that NMS augments excitatory neurotransmission. The presentation will discuss recent results and our progress on the development of the autoradiography method to measure glutamate receptors in the PVN, NTS and phrenic motor column. The paper by Nicole & Baxter is used as a reference to develop the autoradiography technique.