Microneurographic evidence in healthy middle-aged humans for a sympathoexcitatory reflex activated by atrial pressure

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (6) ◽  
pp. H931-H938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Millar ◽  
Hisayoshi Murai ◽  
Beverley L. Morris ◽  
John S. Floras
Keyword(s):  
Single Unit ◽  
Sympathetic Neurons ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Atrial Pressure ◽  
Single Units ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Healthy Humans

Atrial mechanoreceptors, stimulated by increased pressure or volume, elicit in healthy humans a net sympathoinhibitory response. The co-existence of an atrial reflex eliciting muscle sympathoexcitation has been postulated but undetected by conventional multi-unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). We hypothesized that in response to a selective increase in atrial pressure, single-unit MSNA would reveal a subpopulation of efferent sympathetic neurons with firing patterns opposite to the integrated multi-unit MSNA envelope. Multi- and single-unit MSNA recordings were acquired in eight healthy middle-aged subjects (age, 57 ± 8 years; body mass index, 25 ± 2 kg/m2) submitted to selective decreases or increases in atrial pressure by nonhypotensive lower body negative pressure (LBNP; −10 mmHg) or nonhypertensive lower body positive pressure (LBPP; +10 mmHg), respectively. Single-unit MSNA firing responses were classified as anticipated if spike frequency and incidence increased with LBNP or decreased with LBPP and paradoxical if they decreased with LBNP or increased with LBPP. LBNP decreased (3.2 ± 2.8 to 1.4 ± 3.1 mmHg, P < 0.01) and LBPP increased (3.3 ± 2.7 to 4.9 ± 2.8 mmHg, P < 0.01) estimated central venous pressure without affecting stroke volume, systemic pressure, or resistance. Multi-unit MSNA increased with LBNP (31 ± 17 to 38 ± 19 bursts/min, P < 0.01) and diminished with LBPP (33 ± 15 to 28 ± 15 bursts/min, P < 0.01). Of 21 single-units identified, 76% exhibited firing responses to both LBNP and LBPP concordant with multi-unit MSNA, whereas 24% demonstrated discordant or paradoxical responses. The detection of two subpopulations of single-units within the multi-unit MSNA recording, exhibiting opposite firing characteristics, establishes the first evidence in humans for the existence of an excitatory cardiac-muscle sympathetic reflex activated by increasing atrial pressure.

scholarly journals Evidence for differential control of muscle sympathetic single units during mild sympathoexcitation in young, healthy humans

2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (1) ◽  
pp. H13-H23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony V. Incognito ◽  
Connor J. Doherty ◽  
Massimo Nardone ◽  
Jordan B. Lee ◽  
Karambir Notay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Unit ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Single Units ◽  
Handgrip Exercise ◽  
Burst Frequency ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Sympathetic Regulation ◽  
Cardiopulmonary Baroreflex ◽  
Differential Control

Two subpopulations of muscle sympathetic single units with opposite discharge characteristics have been identified during low-level cardiopulmonary baroreflex loading and unloading in middle-aged adults and patients with heart failure. The present study sought to determine whether similar subpopulations are present in young healthy adults during cardiopulmonary baroreflex unloading ( study 1) and rhythmic handgrip exercise ( study 2). Continuous hemodynamic and multiunit and single unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) data were collected at baseline and during nonhypotensive lower body negative pressure (LBNP; n = 12) and 40% maximal voluntary contraction rhythmic handgrip exercise (RHG; n = 24). Single unit MSNA responses were classified as anticipated or paradoxical based on whether changes were concordant or discordant with the multiunit MSNA response, respectively. LBNP and RHG both increased multiunit MSNA burst frequency (∆5 ± 3 bursts/min, P < 0.001; ∆5 ± 8 bursts/min, P = 0.005), burst amplitude (∆5 ± 7%, P = 0.04; ∆13 ± 14%, P < 0.001), and total MSNA (∆302 ± 191 AU/min, P = 0.001; ∆585 ± 556 AU/min, P < 0.001). During LBNP and RHG, 43 and 64 muscle single units were identified, respectively, which increased spike frequency (∆9 ± 11 spikes/min, P < 0.001; ∆10 ± 19 spikes/min, P < 0.001) and the probability of multiple spike firing (∆10 ± 12%, P < 0.001; ∆11 ± 26%, P = 0.001). During LBNP and RHG, 36 (84%) and 39 (61%) single units possessed anticipated firing responses (∆12 ± 10 spikes/min, P < 0.001; ∆19 ± 19 spikes/min, P < 0.001), whereas 7 (16%) and 25 (39%) single units exhibited paradoxical reductions (∆−3 ± 1 spikes/min, P = 0.003; ∆−4 ± 5 spikes/min, P < 0.001). The observation of divergent subpopulations of muscle sympathetic single units in healthy young humans during two mild sympathoexcitatory stressors supports differential control at the fiber level as a fundamental characteristic of human sympathetic regulation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The activity of muscle sympathetic single units was recorded during cardiopulmonary baroreceptor unloading and rhythmic handgrip exercise in young healthy humans. During both stressors, the majority of single units (84% and 61%) exhibited anticipated behavior concordant with the integrated muscle sympathetic response, whereas a smaller proportion (16% and 39%) exhibited paradoxical sympathoinhibition. These results support differential control of postganglionic muscle sympathetic fibers as a characteristic of human sympathetic regulation during mild sympathoexcitatory stress. Listen to this article's corresponding podcast at https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/differential-control-of-sympathetic-outflow-in-young-humans/ .

Hemodynamic responses to graded lower body positive pressure

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (1) ◽  
pp. H69-H73 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Shi ◽  
C. G. Crandall ◽  
P. B. Raven
Keyword(s):  
Forearm Blood Flow ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Intramuscular Pressure ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Central Venous ◽  
Lower Body Positive Pressure ◽  
Pressure Sensitive ◽  
Body Positive ◽  
Forearm Vascular Resistance

Fourteen healthy young men were exposed to progressive increases in lower body positive pressure (LBPP) from 0 to 40 Torr in the supine position. Central venous pressure (CVP) increased 1.09 mmHg (P < 0.05) at 5 Torr LBPP. Between 20 and 40 Torr LBPP CVP increased 0.85 mmHg, resulting in a total increase of 2.06 mmHg (P < 0.05). During 0–20 Torr LBPP mean arterial pressure (MAP) increased from 86 to 89 mmHg with a slope of 0.15 mmHg/Torr LBPP. Stroke volume and cardiac output were significantly increased at 20 Torr LBPP. Beyond 20 Torr LBPP, MAP increased to 95 mmHg at 40 Torr (P < 0.05) with a slope of 0.32 mmHg/Torr LBPP. Forearm blood flow increased above rest at 40 Torr LBPP (P< 0.05). However, neither peripheral nor forearm vascular resistance decreased significantly from rest. Despite the significant increases in MAP, heart rate was unchanged above 20 Torr LBPP. These data suggest that LBPP produces increases in CVP at 0–20 Torr by translocation of blood volume from the legs to the thorax. At LBPP > 20 Torr, further increases in CVP and MAP were produced by other mechanisms possibly related to an activation of intramuscular pressure-sensitive receptors.

Differential sympathetic nerve and heart rate spectral effects of nonhypotensive lower body negative pressure

2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (2) ◽  
pp. R468-R475 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Floras ◽  
Gary C. Butler ◽  
Shin-Ichi Ando ◽  
Steven C. Brooks ◽  
Michael J. Pollard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Stroke Volume ◽  
Negative Pressure ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Harmonic Component ◽  
Lower Body

Lower body negative pressure (LBNP; −5 and −15 mmHg) was applied to 14 men (mean age 44 yr) to test the hypothesis that reductions in preload without effect on stroke volume or blood pressure increase selectively muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), but not the ratio of low- to high-frequency harmonic component of spectral power (PL/PH), a coarse-graining power spectral estimate of sympathetic heart rate (HR) modulation. LBNP at −5 mmHg lowered central venous pressure and had no effect on stroke volume (Doppler) or systolic blood pressure but reduced vagal HR modulation. This latter finding, a manifestation of arterial baroreceptor unloading, refutes the concept that low levels of LBNP interrogate, selectively, cardiopulmonary reflexes. MSNA increased, whereas PL/PH and HR were unchanged. This discordance is consistent with selectivity of efferent sympathetic responses to nonhypotensive LBNP and with unloading of tonically active sympathoexcitatory atrial reflexes in some subjects. Hypotensive LBNP (−15 mmHg) increased MSNA and PL/PH, but there was no correlation between these changes within subjects. Therefore, HR variability has limited utility as an estimate of the magnitude of orthostatic changes in sympathetic discharge to muscle.

Baroreceptor-mediated suppression of osmotically stimulated vasopressin in normal humans

1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 1226-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Goldsmith
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Mean Arterial Pressure ◽  
Arterial Pressure ◽  
Central Venous Pressure ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Central Venous ◽  
Lower Body Positive Pressure ◽  
Body Positive

Increases in central venous pressure and arterial pressure have been reported to have variable effects on normal arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels in healthy humans. To test the hypothesis that baroreceptor suppression of AVP secretion might be more likely if AVP were subjected to a prior osmotic stimulus, we investigated the response of plasma AVP to increased central venous pressure and mean arterial pressure after hypertonic saline in six normal volunteers. Plasma AVP, serum osmolality, heart rate, central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure were assessed before and after a 0.06 ml.kg-1.min-1-infusion of 5% saline give over 90 min and then after 10 min of 30 degrees head-down tilt and 10 min of head-down tilt plus lower-body positive pressure. Hypertonic saline increased plasma AVP. After head-down tilt, which did not change heart rate, pulse pressure, or mean arterial pressure but did increase central venous pressure, plasma AVP fell. Heart rate, pulse pressure, and central venous pressure were unchanged from head-down tilt values during lower-body positive pressure, whereas mean arterial pressure increased. Plasma AVP during lower-body positive pressure was not different from that during tilt. Osmolality increased during the saline infusion but was stable throughout the remainder of the study. These data therefore suggest that an osmotically stimulated plasma AVP level can be suppressed by baroreflex activation. Either the low-pressure cardiopulmonary receptors (subjected to a rise in central venous pressure during head-down tilt) or the sinoaortic baroreceptors (subjected to hydrostatic effects during head-down tilt) could have been responsible for the suppression of AVP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Comparison of muscle sympathetic responses to hemorrhage and lower body negative pressure in humans

1991 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1401-1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Rea ◽  
M. Hamdan ◽  
M. P. Clary ◽  
M. J. Randels ◽  
P. J. Dayton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Pressure ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Central Venous ◽  
Nerve Activity ◽  
Percent Change ◽  
Sympathetic Responses

We compared changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) during graded lower body negative pressure (LBNP) and 450 ml of hemorrhage in nine healthy volunteers. During LBNP, central venous pressure (CVP) decreased from 6.1 +/- 0.4 to 4.5 +/- 0.5 (LBNP -5 mmHg), 3.4 +/- 0.6 (LBNP -10 mmHg), and 2.3 +/- 0.6 mmHg (LBNP -15 mmHg), and there were progressive increases in SNA at each level of LBNP. The slope relating percent change in SNA to change in CVP during LBNP (mean +/- SE) was 27 +/- 11%/mmHg. Hemorrhage of 450 ml at a mean rate of 71 +/- 5 ml/min decreased CVP from 6.1 +/- 0.5 to 3.7 +/- 0.5 mmHg and increased SNA by 47 +/- 11%. The increase in SNA during hemorrhage was not significantly different from the increase in SNA predicted by the slope relating percent change in SNA to change in CVP during LBNP. These data show that nonhypotensive hemorrhage causes sympathoexcitation and that sympathetic responses to LBNP and nonhypotensive hemorrhage are similar in humans.

Effect of lymphatic outflow pressure on lymphatic albumin transport in humans

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 1223-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jauchia Wu ◽  
Gary W. Mack
Keyword(s):  
Protein Transport ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Isotonic Saline ◽  
Saline Infusion ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Lower Body Positive Pressure ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

The effects of posture on the lymphatic outflow pressure and lymphatic return of albumin were examined in 10 volunteers. Lymph flow was stimulated with a bolus infusion of isotonic saline (0.9%, 12.6 ml/kg body wt) under four separate conditions: upright rest (Up), upright rest with lower body positive pressure (LBPP), supine rest (Sup), and supine rest with lower body negative pressure (LBNP). The increase in plasma albumin content (ΔAlb) during the 2 h after bolus saline infusion was greater in Up than in LBPP: 82.9 ± 18.5 vs. −28.4 mg/kg body wt. ΔAlb was greater in LBNP than in Sup: 92.6 vs. −22.5 ± 18.9 mg/kg body wt ( P < 0.05). The greater ΔAlb in Up and Sup with LBNP were associated with a lower estimated lymphatic outflow pressure on the basis of the difference in central venous pressure (ΔCVP). During LBPP, CVP was increased compared with Up: 3.8 ± 1.4 vs. −1.2 ± 1.2 mmHg. During LBNP, CVP was reduced compared with Sup: −3.0 ± 2.2 vs. 1.7 ± 1.0 mmHg. The translocation of protein into the vascular space after bolus saline infusion reflects lymph return of protein and is higher in Up than in Sup. Modulation of CVP with LBPP or LBNP in Up and Sup, respectively, reversed the impact of posture on lymphatic outflow pressure. Thus posture-dependent changes in lymphatic protein transport are modulated by changes in CVP through its mechanical impact on lymphatic outflow pressure.

Effects of lower body negative pressure on sympathetic discharge to leg muscles in humans

1987 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 2558-2562 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Victor ◽  
W. N. Leimbach
Keyword(s):  
Negative Pressure ◽  
Lower Body Negative Pressure ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Orthostatic Stress ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Burst Frequency ◽  
Leg Muscles ◽  
A Value ◽  
Sympathetic Discharge

Recent studies indicate that nonhypotensive orthostatic stress in humans causes reflex vasoconstriction in the forearm but not in the calf. We used microelectrode recordings of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) from the peroneal nerve in conscious humans to determine if unloading of cardiac baroreceptors during nonhypotensive lower body negative pressure (LBNP) increases sympathetic discharge to the leg muscles. LBNP from -5 to -15 mmHg had no effect on arterial pressure or heart rate but caused graded decreases in central venous pressure and corresponding large increases in peroneal MSNA. Total MSNA (burst frequency X mean burst amplitude) increased by 61 +/- 22% (P less than 0.05 vs. control) during LBNP at only -5 mmHg and rose progressively to a value that was 149 +/- 29% greater than control during LBNP at -15 mmHg (P less than 0.05). The major new conclusion is that nonhypotensive LBNP is a potent stimulus to muscle sympathetic outflow in the leg as well as the arm. During orthostatic stress in humans, the cardiac baroreflex appears to trigger a mass sympathetic discharge to the skeletal muscles in all of the extremities.

Reflex activation of sympathetic nervous system by ANF in humans

1988 ◽  
Vol 255 (3) ◽  
pp. H685-H689
Author(s):  
T. J. Ebert
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous System ◽  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Venous Pressure ◽  
Isotonic Saline ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Lower Body Positive Pressure ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous

Recent studies in experimental animal preparations suggest that ANF might alter sympathetic nervous system function. In the present investigation, direct recordings of postganglionic muscle sympathetic nerve activity were obtained from the peroneal nerve of conscious human volunteers. These data and hemodynamic parameters were recorded before and during infusions of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF, 99–126) or placebo (isotonic saline) in 10 subjects. Base-line ANF (36.5 +/- 3.8) increased to 329 +/- 22 pg/ml during 20-min infusions of ANF (15 ng.kg-1.min-1). This did not alter heart rate or blood pressure but reduced central venous pressure (CVP) by 47 +/- 10% (P less than 0.01). Base-line-integrated sympathetic activity (14.4 +/- 2.4 bursts/min) increased 30 +/- 12% during ANF infusion (P less than 0.05). However, when CVP was fixed at control levels with head-down tilt or lower body positive pressure, sympathetic activity was unchanged from pre-ANF base-line levels. These data indicate that exogenous infusions of ANF reduced CVP and unloaded cardiopulmonary baroreceptors. This elicits reflex increases of muscle sympathetic efferent activity. When CVP is maintained at control levels, ANF does not alter sympathetic neural outflow to muscles.

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