Breathing pattern and static lung volumes were studied in 10 subjects at rest and during incremental-load cycle ergometry under three different conditions, viz. with normal pressure in the airways (control) and during continuous positive- and negative-pressure breathing (CPPB, CNPB) of +15 and -15 cmH2O. End-expiratory, end-inspiratory and mid-expiratory volumes were increased by CPPB and decreased by CNPB; these effects were especially pronounced at rest and during mild exercise. Both at rest and during exercise mean inspiratory flow (VT/TI) was exaggerated by CPPB and attenuated by CNPB. At rest these changes were due mainly to concomitant changes in tidal volume (VT) which was increased by CPPB and decreased by CNPB, while inspiratory time duration (TI) was relatively unaffected by pressure breathing. The transition from rest to loadless pedalling induced an increase in VT but no change in TI in the control condition, whereas in the CPPB and CNPB conditions TI decreased and VT remained unaltered. This CPPB- and CNPB-induced change in the volume-time threshold relationship at the onset of pedalling is attributed to increased stretch receptor activity in the extrathoracic portion of the trachea as a result of the increments in transmural pressure. During the course of exercise there was an inverse relationship between the slope of the VT-TI curve and the mid-expiratory volume in that the slope was greater in the control than in the CPPB condition and greatest during CNPB, suggesting that in exercise hyperpnoea the VT-TI relationship is also determined by pulmonary and/or thoracic wall stretch receptors capable of sensing the absolute lung volume.