Twelve distinguished scientists attended the workshop, heard three presentations, and took part in the discussions. Fontana first described his unpublished studies on
cough in exercise and during
hyperventilation with healthy subjects. Both activities depressed
cough induced by inhalation of distilled water
aerosol (fog). The possible mechanisms were discussed. Gibson then described the successful use of
speech therapy to treat
chronic cough, and discussed the possible mechanisms, centering on the role of the larynx and its neural control. A comparison was made with the ability of speech and laughter to precipitate
cough. Widdicombe discussed the scanty literature on the effect of singing and playing wind instruments on
cough, most of the evidence being anecdotal. In the discussion periods several matters for future study arose. It is usually not clear if the modulation of
cough, its depression, enhancement or excitation, arose primarily at peripheral sites (reflexes from the airways), or at a cortical level, or both. Nor is it clear whether the same results would be obtained with provoked
cough and with spontaneous
cough. But all three aspects of 'behavioual' changes in
cough sensitivity (exercise, speech and music) could be further explored, and current techniques should make this possible.