This study investigates the neural population dynamics underlying breathing, opioid-induced respiratory depression, and gasping. Using high-density electrophysiology, opto-tagging, and histological reconstruction, the authors characterized over 15,000 medullary units in the ventral respiratory column (VRC). They found that the VRC population activity evolves along a continuous, rotational trajectory on a low-dimensional neural manifold, which is consistent across animals and recordings. Inspiratory and expiratory activity can be described by intersecting, linear dynamical systems governed by rotational dynamics. During opioid-induced respiratory depression, the trajectories are preserved but slowed, suggesting redundant network compensations to maintain respiratory function. In contrast, acute hypoxia induces a dramatic shift from rotational to all-or-none, ballistic efforts, reflecting a reconfiguration of the VRC dynamics. These findings provide a comprehensive survey of the neural populations involved in breathing and highlight the role of latent dynamics in understanding the responses of large, heterogeneous neural populations to various perturbations.This study investigates the neural population dynamics underlying breathing, opioid-induced respiratory depression, and gasping. Using high-density electrophysiology, opto-tagging, and histological reconstruction, the authors characterized over 15,000 medullary units in the ventral respiratory column (VRC). They found that the VRC population activity evolves along a continuous, rotational trajectory on a low-dimensional neural manifold, which is consistent across animals and recordings. Inspiratory and expiratory activity can be described by intersecting, linear dynamical systems governed by rotational dynamics. During opioid-induced respiratory depression, the trajectories are preserved but slowed, suggesting redundant network compensations to maintain respiratory function. In contrast, acute hypoxia induces a dramatic shift from rotational to all-or-none, ballistic efforts, reflecting a reconfiguration of the VRC dynamics. These findings provide a comprehensive survey of the neural populations involved in breathing and highlight the role of latent dynamics in understanding the responses of large, heterogeneous neural populations to various perturbations.