However, the generation of respiratory rhythm requires other excitatory components, such as glutamate, in order to produce a wide range of behavioral functions including eupneic and sigh activity. The pre-Bötzinger complex is responsible for generating the wide variety of components that make up the respiratory rhythm. The accomplishment of these precise activities requires distinct neuron populations that overlap to allow the generation of different respiratory actions. Eupneic activity is generated using the excitatory mechanism through the NMDA glutamate receptor. Sighs have a differential generation originating from pacemaker neurons. The pre-Bötzinger complex is capable of generating differential rhythmic activities due to the intricate integration of modulatory, synaptic, and intrinsic properties of the neurons involved.