Forced oscillations in sympathetic nerve discharge

1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (3) ◽  
pp. R564-R571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. S. Huang ◽  
G. L. Gebber ◽  
S. Zhong ◽  
S. M. Barman

Periodic electrical stimulation of the medullary raphe or lateral tegmental field in baroreceptor-denervated cats was used to force the central systems responsible for the 10-Hz and 2- to 6-Hz rhythms in post-ganglionic sympathetic nerve discharge (SND). The 10-Hz rhythm in SND could be entrained either to the frequency of medullary stimulation or to harmonics of the stimulus frequency. The harmonic of the stimulus frequency to which the 10-Hz rhythm was entrained in one postganglionic nerve could be different from that in another nerve. On this basis, we propose that the circuits responsible for the 10-Hz rhythms in SND may be modeled as a system of coupled nonlinear oscillators, each of which either influences one postganglionic nerve or nonuniformly affects different postganglionic nerves. The relatively wide band 2- to 6-Hz component in SND could be forced into a stable oscillatory state by medullary stimulation at frequencies between 3 and 5 Hz. This observation is consistent with the view that the 2- to 6-Hz component reflects the complex behavior of a nonlinear oscillator rather than the output of a physiological noise generator.

1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (4) ◽  
pp. R713-R719 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Verberne

Electrical stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) reduces arterial blood pressure. To investigate the mechanism of this response, the effects of electrical and chemical stimulation of the MPFC on splanchnic and lumbar sympathetic nerve discharge and on the discharges of barosensitive neurons of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) were studied in halothane-anesthetized rats. Electrical stimulation (20 Hz, 1 ms, 100 and sympathoinhibitory responses (reduced discharge of the splanchnic sympathetic nerve). Microinjection of glutamate (10 nmol/100 nl) into the MPFC also reduced arterial blood pressure and sympathetic discharge. Electrical stimulation (0.5 Hz, 1-ms pulse pairs, 3-ms interval, 150-300 microA) produced distinct patterns of splanchnic and lumbar sympathetic nerve discharge. A clear sympathoinhibitory phase with an onset latency of 146 +/- 14 ms was observed only in the case of the splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity. Electrical stimulation at depressor sites within the MPFC also inhibited the discharge of 10 of 21 RVLM barosensitive neurons tested. RVLM neurons were never excited by MPFC stimulation. These results indicate that the MPFC contains neurons that form part of a central sympathoinhibitory pathway.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (4) ◽  
pp. R909-R918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youichirou Ootsuka ◽  
William W. Blessing

Neurons in the rostral medullary raphé/parapyramidal region regulate cutaneous sympathetic nerve discharge. Using focal electrical stimulation at different dorsoventral raphé/parapyramidal sites in anesthetized rabbits, we have now demonstrated that increases in ear pinna cutaneous sympathetic nerve discharge can be elicited only from sites within 1 mm of the ventral surface of the medulla. By comparing the latency to sympathetic discharge following stimulation at the ventral raphé site with the corresponding latency following stimulation of the spinal cord [third thoracic (T3) dorsolateral funiculus] we determined that the axonal conduction velocity of raphé-spinal neurons exciting ear pinna sympathetic vasomotor nerves is 0.8 ± 0.1 m/s ( n = 6, range 0.6–1.1 m/s). Applications of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT)2A antagonist trans-4-((3 Z)3-[(2-dimethylaminoethyl)oxyimino]-3-(2-fluorophenyl)propen-1-yl)-phenol, hemifumarate (SR-46349B, 80 μg/kg in 0.8 ml) to the cerebrospinal fluid above thoracic spinal cord (T1-T7), but not the lumbar spinal cord (L2-L4), reduced raphé-evoked increases in ear pinna sympathetic vasomotor discharge from 43 ± 9 to 16 ± 6% ( P < 0.01, n = 8). Subsequent application of the excitatory amino acid (EAA) antagonist kynurenic acid (25 μmol in 0.5 ml) substantially reduced the remaining evoked discharge (22 ± 8 to 6 ± 6%, P < 0.05, n = 5). Our conduction velocity data demonstrate that only slowly conducting raphé-spinal axons, in the unmyelinated range, contribute to sympathetic cutaneous vasomotor discharge evoked by electrical stimulation of the medullary raphé/parapyramidal region. Our pharmacological data provide evidence that raphé-spinal neurons using 5-HT as a neurotransmitter contribute to excitation of sympathetic preganglionic neurons regulating cutaneous vasomotor discharge. Raphé-spinal neurons using an EAA, perhaps glutamate, make a substantial contribution to the ear sympathetic nerve discharge evoked by raphé stimulation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (5) ◽  
pp. R1435-R1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakan S. Orer ◽  
Gerard L. Gebber ◽  
Susan M. Barman

We studied the changes in inferior cardiac sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) produced by unilateral microinjections of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor agonists and antagonists into the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) of urethane-anesthetized, baroreceptor-denervated cats. Microinjection of the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist LY-53857 (10 mM) into either the rostral or caudal VLM significantly reduced ( P ≤ 0.05) the 10-Hz rhythmic component of basal SND without affecting its lower-frequency, aperiodic component. The selective depression of 10-Hz power was accompanied by a statistically significant decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP). Microinjection of LY-53857 into the VLM also attenuated the increase in 10-Hz power that followed tetanic stimulation of depressor sites in the caudal medullary raphé nuclei. Microinjection of the 5-HT2 receptor agonist 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)2-amino-propane (DOI; 10 μM) into the VLM selectively enhanced 10-Hz SND, and intravenous DOI (1 mg/kg) partially reversed the reduction in 10-Hz SND produced by 5-HT2 receptor blockade in the VLM. Microinjection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di- n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OHDPAT; 10 mM), into either the rostral or caudal VLM also selectively attenuated 10-Hz SND and significantly reduced MAP. The reduction in 10-Hz SND produced by 8-OHDPAT was partially reversed by intravenous WAY-100635 (1 mg/kg), which selectively blocks 5-HT1A receptors. These results support the view that serotonergic inputs to the VLM play an important role in expression of the 10-Hz rhythm in SND.


1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Komatsu ◽  
S. Nakajima ◽  
K. Toyama

1. Intracellular recording was made from layer II-III cells in slice preparations of kitten (30-40 days old) visual cortex. Low-frequency (0.1 Hz) stimulation of white matter (WM) usually evoked an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) followed by an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP). The postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) showed strong dependence on stimulus frequency. Early component of EPSP and IPSP evoked by weak stimulation both decreased monotonically at frequencies greater than 0.5-1 Hz. Strong stimulation similarly depressed the early EPSP at higher frequencies (greater than 2 Hz) and replaced the IPSP with a late EPSP, which had a maximum amplitude in the stimulus frequency range of 2-5 Hz. 2. Very weak WM stimulation sometimes evoked EPSPs in isolation from IPSPs. The falling phase of the EPSP revealed voltage dependence characteristic to the responses mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and was depressed by application of an NMDA antagonist DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), whereas the rising phase of the EPSP was insensitive to APV. 3. The early EPSPs followed by IPSPs were insensitive to APV but were replaced with a slow depolarizing potential by application of a non-NMDA antagonist 6,7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), indicating that the early EPSP is mediated by non-NMDA receptors. The slow depolarization was mediated by NMDA receptors because it was depressed by membrane hyperpolarization or addition of APV. 4. The late EPSP evoked by higher-frequency stimulation was abolished by APV, indicating that it is mediated by NMDA receptors, which are located either on the recorded cell or on presynaptic cells to the recorded cells. 5. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of EPSPs was examined in cells perfused with solutions containing 1 microM bicuculline methiodide (BIM), a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonist. WM was stimulated at 2 Hz for 15 min as a conditioning stimulus to induce LTP, and the resultant changes were tested by low-frequency (0.1 Hz) stimulation of WM. 6. LTP of early EPSPs occurred in more than one-half of the cells (8/13) after strong conditioning stimulation. The rising slope of the EPSP was increased 1.6 times on average. 7. To test involvement of NMDA receptors in the induction of LTP in the early EPSP, the effect of conditioning stimulation was studied in a solution containing 100 microM APV, which was sufficient to block completely synaptic transmission mediated by NMDA receptors. LTP occurred in the same frequency and magnitude as in control solution.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (5) ◽  
pp. R1396-R1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun W. Phillips ◽  
Gerard L. Gebber ◽  
Susan M. Barman

We used spectral analysis and event-triggered averaging to determine the effects of chemical inactivation of the medullary lateral tegmental field (LTF) on 1) the relationship of intratracheal pressure (ITP, an index of vagal lung inflation afferent activity) to sympathetic nerve discharge (SND) and phrenic nerve activity (PNA) and 2) central respiratory rate in paralyzed, artificially ventilated dial-urethane-anesthetized cats. ITP-SND coherence value at the frequency of artificial ventilation was significantly ( P < 0.05; n = 18) reduced from 0.73 ± 0.04 (mean ± SE) to 0.24 ± 0.04 after bilateral microinjection of muscimol into the LTF. Central respiratory rate was unexpectedly increased in 12 of these experiments (0.28 ± 0.03 vs. 0.95 ± 0.25 Hz). The ITP-PNA coherence value was variably affected by chemical inactivation of the LTF. It was unchanged when central respiratory rate was also not altered, decreased when respiratory rate was increased above the rate of artificial ventilation, and increased when respiratory rate was raised from a value below the rate of artificial ventilation to the same frequency as the ventilator. Chemical inactivation of the LTF increased central respiratory rate in four of six vagotomized cats but did not significantly affect the PNA-SND coherence value. These data demonstrate that the LTF 1) plays a critical role in mediating the effects of vagal lung inflation afferents on SND but not PNA, 2) helps maintain central respiratory rate in the physiological range, but 3) is not involved in the coupling of central respiratory and sympathetic circuits.


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