Vestibulosympathetic reflex during orthostatic challenge in aging humans

2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (5) ◽  
pp. R1027-R1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Monahan ◽  
Chester A. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Orthostatic Stress ◽  
Pressure Regulation ◽  
Orthostatic Challenge ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Vestibulosympathetic Reflex ◽  
Older Subjects

Aging attenuates the increase in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and elicits hypotension during otolith organ engagement in humans. The purpose of the present study was to determine the neural and cardiovascular responses to otolithic engagement during orthostatic stress in older adults. We hypothesized that age-related impairments in the vestibulosympathetic reflex would persist during orthostatic challenge in older subjects and might compromise arterial blood pressure regulation. MSNA, arterial blood pressure, and heart rate responses to head-down rotation (HDR) performed with and without lower body negative pressure (LBNP) in prone subjects were measured. Ten young (27 ± 1 yr) and 11 older subjects (64 ± 1 yr) were studied prospectively. HDR performed alone elicited an attenuated increase in MSNA in older subjects (Δ106 ± 28 vs. Δ20 ± 7% for young and older subjects). HDR performed during simultaneous orthostatic stress increased total MSNA further in young (Δ53 ± 15%; P < 0.05) but not older subjects (Δ−5 ± 4%). Older subjects demonstrated consistent significant hypotension during HDR performed both alone (Δ−6 ± 2 mmHg) and during LBNP (Δ−7 ± 2 mmHg). These data provide experimental support for the concept that age-related impairments in the vestibulosympathetic reflex persist during orthostatic challenge in older adults. Furthermore, these findings are consistent with the concept that age-related alterations in vestibular function might contribute to altered orthostatic blood pressure regulation with age in humans.

Aging, opioid-receptor agonists and antagonists, and the vestibulosympathetic reflex in humans

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1761-1766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chester A. Ray ◽  
Kevin D. Monahan
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Opioid Receptor ◽  
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Endogenous Opioids ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Vestibulosympathetic Reflex ◽  
Older Subjects

Animal studies indicate that opioids inhibit the firing rate of vestibular neurons, which are important in mediating the vestibulosympathetic reflex. Furthermore, this inhibition appears to be greater in more mature rats. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that opioids inhibit the vestibulosympathetic reflex in humans and that endogenous opioids contribute to the age-related impairment of the vestibulosympathetic reflex. These hypotheses were tested by measuring muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), arterial blood pressure, and heart rate responses to otolith organ engagement during head-down rotation (HDR) in young (24 ± 2 yr old) and older (63 ± 2 yr) subjects before and after administration of either an opioid-receptor antagonist (16 mg naloxone in 9 young and 8 older subjects) or an opioid-receptor agonist (60 mg codeine in 7 young and 7 older subjects). Naloxone did not augment the reflex increase in MSNA during HDR in young (Δ7 ± 2 vs. Δ4 ± 2 bursts/min and Δ81 ± 23 vs. Δ60 ± 24% change in burst frequency and total MSNA before and after naloxone, respectively) or older subjects (Δ2 ± 2 vs. Δ1 ± 2 burst/min and Δ8 ± 7 vs. Δ8 ± 9% before and after naloxone). Similarly, codeine did not attenuate the increase in MSNA during HDR in young (Δ8 ± 1 vs. Δ7 ± 2 bursts/min and Δ53 ± 4 vs. Δ64 ± 16% before and after codeine) or older subjects (Δ6 ± 4 vs. Δ3 ± 3 bursts/min and Δ38 ± 21 vs. Δ33 ± 20%). Mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate responses to HDR were not altered by either naloxone or codeine. These data do not provide experimental support for the concept that opioids modulate the vestibulosympathetic reflex in humans. Moreover, endogenous opioids do not appear to contribute the age-associated impairment of the vestibulosympathetic reflex.

Sympathetic responses to vestibular activation in humans

2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (3) ◽  
pp. R681-R688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason R. Carter ◽  
Chester A. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve ◽  
Sympathetic Nerve Activity ◽  
Blood Pressure Regulation ◽  
Otolith Organs ◽  
Pressure Regulation ◽  
Nerve Activity ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Vestibulosympathetic Reflex

Activation of sympathetic neural traffic via the vestibular system is referred to as the vestibulosympathetic reflex. Investigations of the vestibulosympathetic reflex in humans have been limited to the past decade, and the importance of this reflex in arterial blood pressure regulation is still being determined. This review provides a summary of sympathetic neural responses to various techniques used to engage the vestibulosympathetic reflex. Studies suggest that activation of the semicircular canals using caloric stimulation and yaw rotation do not modulate muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) or skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA). In contrast, activation of the otolith organs appear to alter MSNA, but not SSNA. Specifically, head-down rotation and off-vertical axis rotation increase MSNA, while sinusoidal linear accelerations decrease MSNA. Galvanic stimulation, which results in a nonspecific activation of the vestibule, appears to increase MSNA if the mode of delivery is pulse trained. In conclusion, evidence strongly supports the existence of a vestibulosympathetic reflex in humans. Furthermore, attenuation of the vestibulosympathetic reflex is coupled with a drop in arterial blood pressure in the elderly, suggesting this reflex may be important in human blood pressure regulation.

scholarly journals Sex- and age-based differences in the effect of central serotonin on arterial blood pressure regulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 1310-1323
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Magnusson ◽  
Craig A. Emter ◽  
Kevin J. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Blood Pressure Regulation ◽  
Pressure Regulation ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Serotonin Neurons ◽  
Older Males

The role of serotonin in arterial blood pressure (ABP) regulation across states of vigilance is unknown. We hypothesized that adult rats devoid of CNS serotonin (TPH2−/−) have low ABP in wakefulness and NREM sleep, when serotonin neurons are active. However, TPH2−/− rats experience higher ABP than TPH2+/+ rats in wakefulness and REM only, a phenotype present only in older males and not females. CNS serotonin may be critical for preventing high ABP in males with aging.

Effects of chronic tobacco smoke exposure on arterial blood pressure regulation

1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (4) ◽  
pp. H556-H562
Author(s):  
C. H. Bennett ◽  
D. R. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Cardiovascular System ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Tobacco Smoke ◽  
Sham Group ◽  
Lower Body ◽  
Pressure Regulation ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Group A ◽  
Group B

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of long-term consumption of tobacco smoke on arterial blood pressure regulation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered tobacco smoke for 6-8 mo. Two groups of animals (A and B) received tobacco smoke containing different levels of nicotine (group A: high nicotine, 4 mg/cigarette; group B: low nicotine, 1 mg/cigarette), while a third group (C) served as a sham control by receiving only puffs of room air. Reflex adjustments in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), lower body blood flow, and lower body vascular resistance were compared between the three groups. In the anesthetized control state, no significant difference existed for the cardiovascular parameters measured in the three groups. However, perturbating the cardiovascular system by reducing central blood volume via a 60 degrees head-up tilt elicited less of a fall in MAP in the two smoke groups compared with the sham group. Percent decreases in MAP follow: group A, 23%; group B, 22%; and group C, 48%. Increasing MAP with phenylephrine elicited a significantly greater (P less than 0.05) reduction in HR in groups A and B (smoke treated) compared with group C (sham treated). Finally, varying carotid sinus pressure elicited significantly greater (P less than 0.01) changes in MAP in the smoke-treated animals (A and B) compared with the sham group (C). It is concluded that chronic tobacco smoke administration to laboratory rats increases the sensitivity of the reflex control of the cardiovascular system.

scholarly journals Effects of β-adrenergic receptor agonists on drinking and arterial blood pressure in young and old rats

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (4) ◽  
pp. R1001-R1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Thunhorst ◽  
Connie L. Grobe ◽  
Terry G. Beltz ◽  
Alan Kim Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Arterial Blood Pressure ◽  
Adrenergic Receptors ◽  
Adrenergic Receptor ◽  
Aged Rats ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Young Rats ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Old Rats

These experiments examined water-drinking and arterial blood pressure responses to β-adrenergic receptor activation in young (4 mo), “middle-aged” adult (12 mo), and old (29 mo) male rats of the Brown-Norway strain. We used isoproterenol to simultaneously activate β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors, salbutamol to selectively activate β2-adrenergic receptors, and the combination of isoproterenol and the β2-adrenergic receptor antagonist ICI 118,551 to stimulate only β1-adrenergic receptors. Animals received one of the drug treatments, and water drinking was measured for 90 min. About 1 wk later, animals received the same drug treatment for measurement of arterial blood pressure responses for 90 min. In some rats, levels of renin and aldosterone secretion in response to isoproterenol or salbutamol were measured in additional tests. Old and middle-aged rats drank significantly less after isoproterenol than did young rats and also had greater reductions in arterial blood pressure. Old and middle-aged rats drank significantly less after salbutamol than did young rats, although reductions in arterial blood pressure were equivalent across the ages. The β2-adrenergic antagonist ICI 118,551 abolished drinking after isoproterenol and prevented most of the observed hypotension. Renin secretion after isoproterenol and salbutamol was greater in young rats than in middle-aged rats, and wholly absent in old rats. Aldosterone secretion was reduced in old rats compared with young and middle-aged rats after treatment with isoproterenol, but not after treatment with salbutamol. In conclusion, there are age-related differences in β-adrenergic receptor-mediated drinking that can be explained only in part by age-related differences in renin secretion after β-adrenergic receptor stimulation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document