Comparison of skin sympathetic nerve responses to isometric arm and leg exercise

2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chester A. Ray ◽  
Thad E. Wilson

Measurement of skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA) during isometric exercise has been previously limited to handgrip. We hypothesized that isometric leg exercise due to the greater muscle mass of the leg would elicit greater SSNA responses than arm exercise because of presumably greater central command and muscle mechanoreceptor activation. To compare the effect of isometric arm and leg exercise on SSNA and cutaneous end-organ responses, 10 subjects performed 2 min of isometric knee extension (IKE) and handgrip (IHG) at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction followed by 2 min of postexercise muscle ischemia (PEMI) in a normothermic environment. SSNA was recorded from the peroneal nerve. Cutaneous vascular conductance (laser-Doppler flux/mean arterial pressure) and electrodermal activity were measured within the field of cutaneous afferent discharge. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure significantly increased by 16 ± 3 and 23 ± 3 beats/min and by 22 ± 2 and 27 ± 3 mmHg from baseline during IHG and IKE, respectively. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure responses were significantly greater during IKE compared with IHG. SSNA increased significantly and comparably during IHG and IKE (52 ± 20 and 50 ± 13%, respectively). During PEMI, SSNA and heart rate returned to baseline, whereas mean arterial pressure remained significantly elevated (Δ12 ± 2 and Δ13 ± 2 mmHg from baseline for IHG and IKE, respectively). Neither cutaneous vascular conductance nor electrodermal activity was significantly altered by either exercise or PEMI. These results indicate that, despite cardiovascular differences in response to IHG and IKE, SSNA responses are similar at the same exercise intensity. Therefore, the findings suggest that relative effort and not muscle mass is the main determinant of exercise-induced SSNA responses in humans.

1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1523-1529 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Ray ◽  
R. F. Rea ◽  
M. P. Clary ◽  
A. L. Mark

Previous studies of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) during static exercise have employed predominantly the arms. These studies have revealed striking increases in arm and leg MSNA during static handgrip (SHG) and postexercise circulatory arrest (PECA). The purpose of this study was to examine MSNA during static leg exercise (SLE) at intensities and duration commonly used during SHG followed by PECA. During 2 min of SLE (static knee extension) at 10% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC; n = 18) in the sitting position, mean arterial pressure and heart rate increased significantly. Surprisingly, MSNA in the contralateral leg did not increase above control levels during SLE but rather decreased (23 +/- 5%; P < 0.05) during the 1st min of SLE at 10% MVC. We compared MSNA responses to SHG and SLE (n = 8) at 30% MVC. SHG and SLE elicited comparable increases (P < 0.05) in arterial pressure and heart rate, but SHG elicited significant increases in MSNA, whereas SLE did not. During PECA after SHG and SLE, mean arterial pressure remained significantly above control. However, MSNA was unchanged during PECA after SLE but was significantly greater than control during PECA after SHG. Because previous studies have indicated differences in MSNA responses to the arm and leg, we measured arm and leg MSNA simultaneously in six subjects during SLE at 20% MVC and PECA. During SLE and PECA, MSNA in the contralateral arm and leg did not differ significantly from each other.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1978 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Bonde-Petersen ◽  
L. B. Rowell ◽  
R. G. Murray ◽  
G. G. Blomqvist ◽  
R. White ◽  
...  

Ten men repeatedly performed leg exercise (100–150 W) for 7 min with 30-min recovery periods interspersed. Both legs were made ischemic by total occlusion (OCCL), first for 3 min immediately after exercise and second for 30 s before exercise ended and 3 min into recovery. In addition legs were occluded for 3 min at rest (seated). OCCL at rest increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) by 9 Torr but did not affect cardiac output (CO) or heart rate (HR). OCCL at the end of exercise significantly raised MAP and HR above control values during 3-min recovery but CO was unaffected. OCCL 30 s before the end of exercise further increased MAP and HR significantly during recovery; MAP, CO, and HR were significantly increased above control values (CO by 2.1 1-min-1) during the 3rd min of recovery. We conclude that a strong reflex from ischemic legs maintains normal or elevated CO during leg OCCL. Thus CO was too high relative to total vascular conductance so that MAP was elevated.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (5) ◽  
pp. R1289-R1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Fukuhara ◽  
T. Tsuchihashi ◽  
I. Abe ◽  
M. Fujishima

Adrenomedullin is a vasodilative peptide and shows slight homology with calcitonin gene-related peptide. In the present study, we investigated the effects of adrenomedullin on cardiovascular and neurohormonal responses in 13 conscious rabbits. The animals were chronically instrumented with bipolar electrodes on the left renal sympathetic nerve. Intravenous administration of human adrenomedullin (10, 100, 1,000, and 3,000 pmol/kg, n = 6) caused a dose-dependent reduction in mean arterial pressure (0 +/- 2, -1 +/- 2, -19 +/- 2, and -29 +/- 4 mmHg, respectively) concomitant with increases in heart rate, renal sympathetic nerve activity, plasma renin activity, and plasma norepinephrine. The significant reduction in mean arterial pressure induced by 1,000 pmol/kg of adrenomedullin occurred within 1 min after injection and lasted for 15 min (n = 7). In contrast, the significant increases in heart rate and renal sympathetic nerve activity lasted for more than 50 min. When mean arterial pressure was decreased by 15 mmHg by adrenomedullin, the increases in heart rate and renal sympathetic nerve activity were 53 +/- 8 beats/min and 78 +/- 13%, respectively, which were significantly smaller than those induced by intravenous injection of sodium nitroprusside (102 +/- 14 beats/min and 155 +/- 34%, respectively). These results suggest that intravenous adrenomedullin exerts a hypotensive action that is associated with the attenuated reflex-mediated sympathetic activation.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (3) ◽  
pp. H1606-H1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. DiCarlo ◽  
L. K. Stahl ◽  
V. S. Bishop

"Central command" may initiate the sympathoexcitatory responses at the onset of exercise by shifting the operating point of the arterial baroreflex toward higher pressures. Daily exercise (DE) attenuates the sympathoexcitatory responses to submaximal exercise. This DE-induced adaptation may be due, in part, to an enhanced inhibitory influence of cardiac afferents. This is suggested because cardiac afferents exert a tonic inhibitory influence on the arterial baroreflex which is enhanced by DE. Therefore, the influence of cardiac afferents on the regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) during exercise was examined in a group of sedentary and age-matched DE rabbits. The rabbits were instrumented with a Silastic catheter inserted into the pericardial sac, electrodes around the renal sympathetic nerves, and catheters in the femoral artery and vein. In the sedentary rabbits, treadmill exercise (12 m/min, 20% grade) significantly increased mean arterial pressure (delta 18 +/- 3 mmHg), heart rate (delta 36 +/- 3 beats/min), and RSNA (delta 295 +/- 23%). More importantly, cardiac afferent blockade (2% intrapericardial procainamide) did not significantly alter the RSNA response to exercise in the sedentary rabbits. DE did not alter the mean arterial pressure (delta 15 +/- 1 mmHg) or heart rate (delta 55 +/- 8 beats/min) response to exercise; however, RSNA (delta 252 +/- 9%) was significantly reduced. In contrast to the sedentary rabbits, cardiac afferent blockade in the DE rabbits significantly increased the RSNA response to exercise (delta 417 +/- 30%). These results suggest that DE attenuates the RSNA response to dynamic exercise due, in part, to an enhanced inhibitory influence of cardiac afferents.


1999 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 1676-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla M. Thomas ◽  
Jane M. Pierzga ◽  
W. Larry Kenney

To determine the effect and underlying mechanisms of exercise training and the influence of age on the skin blood flow (SkBF) response to exercise in a hot environment, 22 young (Y; 18–30 yr) and 21 older (O; 61–78 yr) men were assigned to 16 wk of aerobic (A; YA, n = 8; OA, n = 11), resistance (R; YR, n = 7; OR, n = 3), or no training (C; YC, n = 7; OC, n = 7). Before and after treatment, subjects exercised at 60% of maximum oxygen consumption (V˙o 2 max) on a cycle ergometer for 60 min at 36°C. Cutaneous vascular conductance, defined as SkBF divided by mean arterial pressure, was monitored at control (vasoconstriction intact) and bretylium-treated (vasoconstriction blocked) sites on the forearm using laser-Doppler flowmetry. Forearm vascular conductance was calculated as forearm blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography) divided by mean arterial pressure. Esophageal and skin temperatures were recorded. Only aerobic training (functionally defined a priori as a 5% or greater increase inV˙o 2 max) produced a decrease in the mean body temperature threshold for increasing forearm vascular conductance (36.89 ± 0.08 to 36.63 ± 0.08°C, P < 0.003) and cutaneous vascular conductance (36.91 ± 0.08 to 36.65 ± 0.08°C, P < 0.004). Similar thresholds between control and bretylium-treated sites indicated that the decrease was mediated through the active vasodilator system. This shift was more pronounced in the older men who presented greater training-induced increases in V˙o 2 maxthan did the young men (22 and 9%, respectively). In summary, older men improved their SkBF response to exercise-heat stress through the effect of aerobic training on the cutaneous vasodilator system.


1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-95. ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Ebert ◽  
Michael Muzi ◽  
Craig W. Lopatka

Background Sevoflurane and desflurane are new volatile anesthetics with low blood solubilities that confer properties of rapid anesthetic induction and emergence. Desflurane has been associated with neurocirculatory excitation after the rapid increase in inspired concentrations. The current study evaluated and compared the sympathetic and hemodynamic responses associated with the administration of sevoflurane to those associated with administration of desflurane in humans. Methods After Institutional Review Board approval, 21 healthy, young (19-32 yr) volunteers were randomly selected for participation. Arterial and central venous pressures were measured directly, and heart rate, forearm blood flow, and plasma norepinephrine concentrations were determined indirectly. Efferent muscle sympathetic nerve activity was recorded by microneurography. After neurocirculatory recordings at conscious baseline, measurements were repeated beginning 2 min after 2 mg/kg propofol while the anesthetic was increased incrementally by mask over a 10-min period at 1%, 2%, and 3% sevoflurane (n = 12) or 3%, 6%, and 9% desflurane (n = 9). Responses to intubation were recorded and, 20 min later, recordings were evaluated during steady-state periods of 0.41, 0.83, and 1.24 MAC. Data also were obtained after steady-state 0.83 MAC measurements when the inspired gas concentration was rapidly increased to either 3% sevoflurane or 9% desflurane ("transition" to 1.24 MAC). Results Neurocirculatory variables did not differ between the two groups at conscious baseline. During the period of administration via mask and during the "transition" period, the significant increases in sympathetic nerve activity, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and central venous pressure associated with desflurane were not observed with sevoflurane. Ten minutes after induction, mean arterial pressure and heart rate responses to intubation did not differ between groups. With increasing anesthetic concentration, there were progressive and similar decreases in mean arterial pressure in both groups and no changes in heart rate. Central venous pressure, sympathetic nerve activity, and plasma norepinephrine increased with the greater minimum alveolar concentration multiple of desflurane but not with that of sevoflurane. Conclusions The neurocirculatory excitation seen with rapid increases in desflurane did not occur with sevoflurane. At steady-state, increasing the concentration of sevoflurane was associated with lower sympathetic nerve activity and central venous pressure and similar mean arterial pressure and heart rate with that of desflurane.


1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 2082-2086
Author(s):  
J C Neahring ◽  
S Y Jones ◽  
G F DiBona

Efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity is increased in experimental nephrotic syndrome and exhibits attenuated cardiopulmonary baroreflex inhibition during volume expansion in anesthetized rats. Additional studies were performed in conscious rats to avoid the potentially confounding influences of anesthesia; these studies used another more specific standardized stimulus for cardiopulmonary baroreflex activation. Sprague Dawley rats were studied 3 to 4 wk after adriamycin injection (3.5 mg/kg iv); all rats developed proteinuria. In sinoaortic denervated rats (anesthetized), graded frequency stimulation of the central end of the cut right vagus nerve produced frequency-dependent decreases in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity. The decreases in mean arterial pressure and heart rate were similar in control and nephrotic rats, but efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity decreased significantly less in nephrotic than control rats over the entire frequency range (P < 0.02). In sinoaortic denervated rats (conscious), 10% body weight isotonic saline volume expansion decreased mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity. The decreases in mean arterial pressure and heart rate were similar in control and nephrotic rats, but efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity decreased significantly less in nephrotic than control rats over the entire period of volume expansion (P < 0.04). In nephrotic syndrome, the cardiopulmonary baroreflex inhibition of efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity is decreased; the defect lies in the central portion of the reflex. This may contribute to the observed increase in efferent renal sympathetic nerve activity in nephrotic syndrome.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (2) ◽  
pp. R305-R312 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Siren ◽  
S. Vonhof ◽  
G. Feuerstein

The role of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and glutamate in central cardiovascular control was studied by microinjections (50 nl) of these agents into the medial or median preoptic nuclei of conscious rats (n = 49) with continuous recording of mean arterial pressure, heart rate, blood flow, and vascular resistance in hindquarter, renal, and mesenteric blood vessels. In addition, the effect of TRH on renal sympathetic nerve activity was studied in anesthetized rats. TRH (2.4-240 pmol) elicited the typical hemodynamic pattern of the "defense response" consisting of increased blood pressure, tachycardia, hindquarter vasodilation, and constriction of renal and mesenteric blood vessels. Maximum changes in cardiovascular variables after the 24-pmol dose were +12 +/- 2 mmHg (mean arterial pressure), +73 +/- 15 beats/min (heart rate), -21 +/- 6% (hindquarter resistance), +15 +/- 6% (renal resistance), and +31 +/- 6% (mesenteric resistance), P less than 0.05 compared with saline. In anesthetized rats, TRH at the 2.4-pmol dose increased renal sympathetic nerve activity (greater than 200%, n = 5, P less than 0.05 compared with control) with no effect on blood pressure or renal flow. Glutamate (10 or 100 nmol) produced a similar pattern of hemodynamic changes as TRH. Peak effects after the 100-nmol dose of glutamate were +16 +/- 2 mmHg (mean arterial pressure), +57 +/- 11 beats/min (heart rate), -31 +/- 3% (hindquarter resistance), +29 +/- 9% (renal resistance), and +87 +/- 22% (mesenteric resistance), P less than 0.05 compared with saline. The glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blocker MK-801 (300 micrograms/kg iv) attenuated the pressor-tachycardic responses to TRH and the pressor-mesenteric constrictor responses to glutamate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (2) ◽  
pp. H685-H692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Frithiof ◽  
Rohit Ramchandra ◽  
Sally G. Hood ◽  
Clive N. May

Small volume hypertonic saline resuscitation can be beneficial for treating hemorrhagic shock, but the mechanism remains poorly defined. We investigated the effects of hemorrhagic resuscitation with hypertonic saline on cardiac (CSNA) and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and the resulting cardiovascular consequences. Studies were performed on conscious sheep instrumented with cardiac ( n = 7) and renal ( n = 6) sympathetic nerve recording electrodes and a pulmonary artery flow probe. Hemorrhage (20 ml/kg over 20 min) caused hypotension and tachycardia followed by bradycardia, reduced cardiac output, and abolition of CSNA and RSNA. Resuscitation with intravenous hypertonic saline (1.2 mol/l at 2 ml/kg) caused rapid, dramatic increases in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and CSNA, but had no effect on RSNA. In contrast, isotonic saline resuscitation (12 ml/kg) had a much delayed and smaller effect on CSNA, less effect on mean arterial pressure, no effect on heart rate, but stimulated RSNA, although the plasma volume expansion was similar. Intracarotid infusion of hypertonic saline (1 ml/min bilaterally, n = 5) caused similar changes to intravenous administration, indicating a cerebral component to the effects of hypertonic saline. In further experiments, contractility (maximum change in pressure over time), heart rate, and cardiac output increased significantly more with intravenous hypertonic saline (2 ml/kg) than with Gelofusine (6 ml/kg) after hemorrhage; the effects of hypertonic saline were attenuated by the β-receptor antagonist propranolol ( n = 6). These results demonstrate a novel neural mechanism for the effects of hypertonic saline resuscitation, comprising cerebral stimulation of CSNA by sodium chloride to improve cardiac output by increasing cardiac contractility and rate and inhibition of RSNA.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (3) ◽  
pp. H1026-H1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Rodrigues Dias ◽  
William T. Talman ◽  
Eduardo Colombari

In this study, we characterized the arterial pressure, heart rate, and regional vascular conductance responses elicited by unilateral microinjection of ionotropic glutamatergic agonists N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA and non-NMDA) into the nucleus of tractus solitarius (NTS) of conscious rats. Microinjections of NMDA and S-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) caused changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP). Lower doses elicited decreases in MAP, whereas higher doses elicited biphasic responses (decreases followed by increases). Both agonists induced bradycardia and elicited dose-dependent vasoconstriction in the renal, mesenteric, and hindquarter beds. AMPA elicited delayed vasodilation in the hindquarter bed but NMDA did not. Bradycardia and initial hypotension produced by each agonist were abolished by systemic administration of the muscarinic antagonist methylatropine. However, methylatropine did not affect either the vasoconstriction or the vasodilatation. The contrasting hemodynamic effects produced by NMDA and AMPA could be caused by activation of differential subsets of NTS neurons. Preferential activation of one subset could produce the NMDA-related responses, whereas activation of another subset would elicit AMPA-related responses.


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