Effects of vagus nerve on heart rate and ventricular contractility in chicken

1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (5) ◽  
pp. H1295-H1302
Author(s):  
S. A. Lang ◽  
M. N. Levy
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Cycle Length ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Ventricular Contractility ◽  
Ventricular Contraction ◽  
Vagus Stimulation ◽  
Constant Frequency ◽  
The Right ◽  
Contraction And Relaxation ◽  
Left Vagus

We determined the effects of vagus nerve stimulation on cardiac cycle length and on ventricular contraction and relaxation in 18 chickens anesthetized with pentobarbital. Right vagus stimulation at a constant frequency of 35 Hz prolonged cycle length by 190%, whereas left vagus stimulation at the same frequency increased cycle length by 136%. When one burst of stimuli was delivered to the right vagus nerve each cardiac cycle, but the timing of the stimuli was changed within the cardiac cycle, the response of the avian pacemaker cells varied substantially with the timing of the stimuli. Right and left vagus stimulation at a constant frequency of 20 Hz depressed ventricular contraction by 62 +/- 6 and 52 +/- 6%, respectively, and depressed ventricular relaxation by 56 +/- 7 and 53 +/- 7%, respectively. These results indicate that in the chicken the chronotropic effects of right vagus stimulation are greater than those of left vagus stimulation, whereas right and left vagus stimulation are approximately equipotent on ventricular contraction and relaxation.

scholarly journals THE RELATION OF THE AURICULAR ACTIVITY FOLLOWING FARADIZATION OF THE DOG'S AURICLE TO ABNORMAL AURICULAR ACTIVITY IN MAN

1913 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 704-714
Author(s):  
G. Canby Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Vagus Stimulation ◽  
Peripheral Stimulation ◽  
Cardiac Disorders ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus ◽  
Stimulation Of

The tumultuous auricular activity which follows faradization of the auricles of mammals and which has been variously described, could be distinctly seen to consist almost constantly in our experiments on dogs of true fibrillatory movements of the separate muscle fibers coëxisting with a rapid auricular tachycardia. During peripheral stimulation of the right vagus nerve the true fibrillation alone existed, the tachycardia being inhibited. A comparison of the electrocardiograms from dogs with this abnormal auricular activity with those from patients with the type of cardiac arhythmia which has been attributed to auricular fibrillation, and from patients with so called auricular flutter, indicates that the auricular activity in patients with either of these conditions differs somewhat from that usually seen in the faradized auricles of the dog in our experiments. The auricular activity of the cases of cardiac arhythmia is apparently true fibrillation, similar to that seen in the faradized auricles of the dog during right vagus stimulation. The electrocardiograms from cases of so called auricular flutter usually give no evidence of auricular fibrillation, and the auricular activity seems to consist of tachycardia alone. Fibrillation may apparently coëxist with the tachycardia in some cases, when the auricular activity seems to resemble closely that usually seen in the dog after auricular faradization. During peripheral stimulation of the left vagus nerve, the electrocardiograms obtained after auricular faradization show changes which render them more nearly similar to those obtained from patients with auricular flutter. The facts that the auricular activity of the faradized auricles of the dog may apparently pass spontaneously into that closely resembling auricular flutter in man, that it may be changed into true fibrillation by right vagus stimulation, and that the abnormal auricular activity in man passes from a state of flutter to that of fibrillation in a similar manner, may be taken as evidence for the belief that auricular fibrillation and auricular flutter in man are closely allied cardiac disorders.

scholarly journals STUDIES WITH THE ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH ON THE ACTION OF THE VAGUS NERVE ON THE HUMAN HEART

1912 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canby Robinson ◽  
George Draper
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Sinus Node ◽  
Heart Beat ◽  
Vagus Stimulation ◽  
Chronic Heart Disease ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Whole Heart ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus ◽  
Stimulation Of

The electrocardiographic records taken during vagus stimulation by pressure from children suffering with chronic heart disease have shown that the stimulation of the vagi in these cases is strikingly effectual. In some of the cases, a definite difference was demonstrated between the action of the right and left vagi. The control of the rate of the heart-beat seemed to predominate usually in the right vagus nerve, while the control of stimulus conduction from auricles to ventricles apparently predominated usually in the left vagus. This difference in the two nerves probably exists on account of the difference in their anatomical distribution, the right vagus going especially to that part of the heart which controls the rate of contraction, the sinus node above the right auricle, and the left vagus going especially to that part in which the conducting mechanism is found. Each nerve, however, has to a lesser degree the function which predominates in the other. The whole heart seems to respond, as a rule, more promptly to right than to left vagus pressure, and fairly constant differences have been seen in the effects which stimulation of each nerve has on the various waves of the electrocardiograms. The stimulation of each vagus may influence directly the contractions of the ventricles, causing great diminution in their force. Right vagus stimulation was followed at times by a complete dissociation of auricles and ventricles. The auricular rhythm was slowed sufficiently at this time to allow the ventricles, whose inherent rhythmicity is apparently unaffected by right vagus stimulation, to take up their own independent rhythm. The heightened ventricular rhythmicity in these cases allowed this to take place after only moderate slowing of the auricles. The independent ventricular rhythm was sometimes established in the region of the node of Tawara, for no disturbance of the ventricular portion of the electrocardiogram occurred. At another time, some other point in the ventricles inaugurated the stimuli of the independent ventricular contractions and an abnormal electrocardiogram resulted. The resemblance of our curves, showing dissociation, to those obtained during right vagus and left accelerator stimulation in dogs is definite. That analogy, the clinical picture, and the form of the electrocardiograms of these cases have led us to the belief that an important feature in the pathological physiology of these cases is hypertonus of the cardiac accelerator nerves. This factor, as a cause of symptoms and as a hindrance to the establishment of cardiac rest, may prove of great importance, against which a new form of cardiac therapeutics must be directed.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF THE VAGUS NERVES ON THE FARADIZED AURICLES IN THE DOG'S HEART

1913 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Canby Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Ventricular Rate ◽  
Vagus Nerves ◽  
Vagus Stimulation ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus ◽  
Stimulation Of

An abnormal auricular activity is produced by faradization of the right auricle of the dog, which frequently becomes established and continues for varying periods of time after faradization is discontinued. This auricular activity consists of a rapid auricular tachycardia coexisting with true auricular fibrillation. In some dogs the auricles are thrown into this abnormal activity more readily by faradization after the vagi have been cut than before. Cutting the nerves has little or no effect on the abnormal auricular activity, but the ventricular rate may be much increased if the vagi are cut after the abnormal auricular activity has been established, apparently because of an improvement in the auriculoventricular conductivity. Stimulation of the right vagus nerve changes the character of the activity of the faradized auricles by inhibiting the auricular tachycardia while the fibrillation is uninfluenced. Stimulation of the left vagus nerve has little or no apparent inhibitory effect on the auricular tachycardia, but has possibly an inhibitory effect on the auricular fibrillation. Vagus stimulation increases the susceptibility of the auricles to faradization. The abnormal activity set up by faradization may be established in hearts otherwise refractory by vagus stimulation of short duration following the faradization. Vagus stimulation usually holds the auricles in the abnormal activity set up by faradization as long as it is continued in hearts in which, without vagus stimulation, the sequential beat always returns as soon as faradization is stopped. The right vagus is more effectual in this respect than the left. In some hearts vagus stimulation alone is capable of initiating the same abnormal auricular activity which is caused by auricular faradization. The normal sequential beat is often restored by vagus stimulation. It replaces the abnormal auricular activity not during, but a few seconds after, the termination of vagus stimulation. Left vagus stimulation is somewhat more effectual in producing this result than right vagus stimulation.

scholarly journals STUDIES WITH THE ELECTROCARDIOGRAPH ON THE ACTION OF THE VAGUS NERVE ON THE HUMAN HEART

1911 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Canby Robinson ◽  
George Draper
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Mechanical Stimulation ◽  
Human Heart ◽  
Appreciable Effect ◽  
Vagus Stimulation ◽  
Ventricular Systole ◽  
Constant Change ◽  
The Right ◽  
Stimulation Of

In hearts showing auricular fibrillation mechanical stimulation of the right vagus nerve causes, as a rule, marked slowing or stoppage of ventricular rhythm, without producing any appreciable effect in the electrocardiographic record of the auricular fibrillation. The ventricular pauses are apparently due to the blocking of stimuli from the auricles. The force of ventricular systole is distinctly weakened for several beats after vagus stimulation, and ectopic ventricular systoles have been seen in several instances, apparently the result of the vagus action. There may, in some cases, be lowered excitability of the ventricles, while no constant change is seen in the size of the electrical complexes representing ventricular systole.

Functional anatomy of the vagal innervation of the cervical trachea of the dog

2000 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Coon ◽  
Patrick J. Mueller ◽  
Philip S. Clifford
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Neural Control ◽  
Muscle Tone ◽  
Cuff Pressure ◽  
Vagal Innervation ◽  
Cervical Trachea ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus ◽  
Stimulation Of

The canine cervical trachea has been used for numerous studies regarding the neural control of tracheal smooth muscle. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there is lateral dominance by either the left or right vagal innervation of the canine cervical trachea. In anesthetized dogs, pressure in the cuff of the endotracheal tube was used as an index of smooth muscle tone in the trachea. After establishment of tracheal tone, as indicated by increased cuff pressure, either the right or left vagus nerve was sectioned followed by section of the contralateral vagus. Sectioning the right vagus first resulted in total loss of tone in the cervical trachea, whereas sectioning the left vagus first produced either a partial or no decrease in tracheal tone. After bilateral section of the vagi, cuff pressure was recorded during electrical stimulation of the rostral end of the right or left vagus. At the maximum current strength used, stimulation of the left vagus produced tracheal constriction that averaged 28.5% of the response to stimulation of the right vagus (9.0 ± 1.8 and 31.6 ± 2.5 mmHg, respectively). In conclusion, the musculature of cervical trachea in the dog appears to be predominantly controlled by vagal efferents in the right vagus nerve.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF THE VAGUS NERVES UPON CONDUCTION BETWEEN AURICLES AND VENTRICLES IN THE DOG DURING AURICULAR FIBRILLATION

1916 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Canby Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Vagus Nerves ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus ◽  
Stimulation Of

The experiments that have been reported indicate that stimulation of either the right vagus or the left vagus nerve is equally effectual in blocking impulses from the auricles to the ventricles when auricular fibrillation is present. Stimulation of the left vagus nerve is as effectual in blocking impulses from the normally beating auricles as from the auricles when in a state of fibrillation, and the type of auricular activity has apparently no influence on the effect which stimulation of the left vagus has on auriculoventricular conduction.

Characterization of responses of neonatal sinus and AV nodes to critically timed, brief vagal stimuli

1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (2) ◽  
pp. H459-H464 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Yamasaki ◽  
A. Stolfi ◽  
A. S. Pickoff
Keyword(s):  
Cycle Length ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Gradual Increase ◽  
Latency Period ◽  
Atrial Pacing ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Stimulus Train ◽  
Sinus Cycle Length ◽  
The Right

We studied the responses of sinus cycle length and atrioventricular (AV) nodal conduction to brief, critically timed vagal stimuli in 25 neonatal (9.6 +/- 3.1 days) canines. Vagal stimuli were delivered to the right or left decentralized cervical vagosympathetic trunk as either a single, brief stimulus train or a repetitive, phase-coupled train with both stimulation paradigms programmed to scan the entire cardiac cycle. The effects of brief vagal stimuli on cardiac cycle length were measured while the heart was beating spontaneously, and the vagal effects on AV nodal conduction were measured while the cycle length was held constant by atrial pacing at 300 ms. Neither changes in sinus cycle length nor AV nodal conduction demonstrated classical phase dependency, i.e., a gradual increase in the magnitude of the vagal response as stimuli are delivered progressively later in the cardiac cycle until the latency period (that point in the cardiac cycle at which vagal stimulation no longer affects the next cardiac cycle) is reached. Phase-response curves (PRCs) to single and repetitive stimuli typically exhibited either a flat response or a small decrease in magnitude as the latency period of the PRC was approached. Thus the neonatal sinus and AV node PRCs exhibit a different configuration than that reported in the adult.

Effects of calcium channel antagonists on the vagally mediated cardiac chronotropic response in dogs

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 1363-1367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don W. Wallick ◽  
Sherry L. Stuesse ◽  
Paul Martin
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Calcium Channel ◽  
Total Dose ◽  
Cycle Length ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Vagal Stimulation ◽  
Calcium Channel Antagonists ◽  
Chronotropic Response ◽  
Stimulation Of

A brief electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve may elicit a triphasic response comprising (i) an initial prolongation of the same or the next cardiac cycle, (ii) a return of the subsequent cardiac cycle to about the level prior to vagal stimulation, and (iii) a secondary prolongation of cardiac cycle length that lasts several beats. We compared the effects of two calcium channel antagonists, verapamil and nifedipine, on this triphasic response to vagal stimulation in chloralose-anesthetized, open-chest dogs. In the absence of vagal stimulation, nifedipine (doses of 10, 40, and 50 μg/kg for a total dose of 100 μg/kg, i.v.) and verapamil (two doses of 100 μg/kg each, i.v.) increased the cardiac cycle length (A–A interval) by 16% (429 ± 20 to 496 ± 21 ms) and 29% (470 ± 33 to 605 ± 54 ms), respectively. Nifedipine (100 μg/kg total) attenuated the initial vagally mediated prolongation of the A–A interval, from 474 ± 19 to 369 ± 42 ms above the basal A–A interval. Following the initial prolongation of the vagal effect, other A–A intervals were not affected. In contrast, verapamil potentiated the vagally mediated initial prolongation in cardiac cycle length at the first dose administered (100 μg/kg) from 492 ± 17 to 561 ± 14 ms, but other increases in dosages had no further effect. Thus these two calcium channel antagonists have different effects on the sinoatrial chronotropic responses caused by brief vagal stimulation.Key words: autonomic control, parasympathetic, heart, calcium.

Phasic influences of vagal stimulation on atrioventricular conduction

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1198-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Warner ◽  
Jerod M. Loeb
Keyword(s):  
Sympathetic Activity ◽  
Cycle Length ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Vagal Stimulation ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Constant Frequency ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Av Conduction ◽  
Anesthetized Dogs ◽  
Interval Response

The beat-by-beat changes in atrioventricular (AV) conduction evoked by constant frequency and phase-coupled vagal stimulation were examined both qualitatively and quantitatively in 13 anesthetized dogs. The effects of pacing cycle length and sympathetic activity on the vagally induced phasic changes in AV conduction were also characterized. When the vagal stimulus interval was nearly equal to the pacing cycle length and the vagal stimulus moved progressively through the cardiac cycle, AV interval oscillated in a rhythmic fashion. The rhythmicity of the vagally induced AV interval oscillations was altered substantially by changes in either the vagal stimulus interval or the pacing cycle length. The vagally induced AV interval oscillations were abolished during phase-coupled vagal stimulation; however, the magnitude of the resultant steady-state AV interval depended on the time relative to the phase of the cardiac cycle that the vagal stimulus was delivered. In the presence or absence of sympathetic stimulation, a vagal stimulus falling approximately 200 ms prior to atrial depolarization evoked the greatest prolongation in AV interval, regardless of the pacing cycle length. Additionally, the effects of combined sympathetic and phase-dependent vagal stimulation on the AV interval were additive. These data confirm that the influence of a vagal stimulus on AV interval can be predicted from the phase in the cardiac cycle that the vagal stimulus is delivered. Moreover, this phase dependency of vagal effects evokes marked qualitative variations in AV interval response patterns when either the vagal stimulus interval or the pacing cycle length is altered.

Role of Pulmonary Vagal Afferent Nerve Fibres in the Development of Rapid Shallow Breathing in Lung Inflammation

1972 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Trenchard ◽  
D. Gardner ◽  
A. Guz
Keyword(s):  
Vagus Nerve ◽  
Inflammatory Lesion ◽  
Polymorphonuclear Leucocytes ◽  
Nerve Fibres ◽  
Shallow Breathing ◽  
Vagal Afferent ◽  
Myelinated Fibres ◽  
The Right ◽  
Left Vagus

1. The administration of the polysaccharide carageenin through a catheter into the lungs of cats and rabbits has produced an inflammatory lesion confined to one lobe of a lung. The lesion consisted of an alveolar and interstitial infiltration with polymorphonuclear leucocytes and, subsequently, macrophages. There was no apparent damage to alveolar walls and no pleurisy. The rest of the lung remained normal. 2. In both conscious cats and anaesthetized rabbits there was an increased frequency of breathing dependent on an intact vagus nerve on the same side as the lesion. It was independent of changes in body temperature and was not due to hypoxaemia. 3. By using a direct current to the right cervical vagus nerve in the rabbits (with the left vagus nerve sectioned), it has been possible to block conduction in myelinated fibres; the non-myelinated fibres conduct normally. Studies with this differentially blocked nerve have shown that the increased frequency of breathing is dependent on activity in the non-myelinated vagal afferent fibres.

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