BACKGROUND Left ventricular sympathetic afferent nerves are located mainly in superficial epicardial layers. Reflex excitatory responses mediated by sympathetic afferent nerves have been observed during myocardial ischemia in cats and humans but not in dogs. Previous canine studies have induced ischemia by occlusion of a coronary artery. Extensive collateral circulation in the canine heart may ...

Ever since the demonstration that the active principle in the adrenal medulla can raise blood pressure (Oliver & Schafer, 1895), catecholamines have been implicated in the hypertensive diseases. The identity of noradrenaline as the neurotransmitter of sympathetic nerves (von Euler, 1946) and the demonstration that an injection of this catecholamine can produce cardiovascular changes similar to ...

Although considerable evidence suggests that the vestibular system regulates sympathetic outflow during movement and changes in posture, little is known about relative vestibular influences on activity of different sympathetic nerves and sympathetic efferents with different functions. In the present study, we demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve in the cat elicited r...

Sympathetic hyperinnervation occurs in human ventricular tissue after myocardial infarction and may contribute to arrhythmias. Aberrant sympathetic sprouting is associated with elevated nerve growth factor (NGF) in many contexts, including ventricular hyperinnervation. However, it is unclear whether cardiomyocytes or other cell types are responsible for increased NGF synthesis. In this study, l...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The incidence of CVD is increasing in association with the growing prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. This is occurring despite established effective therapies for hypertension. Thus, new methods for risk reduction are still needed (Cutler et al., 2008). The aim of this research topic was to ...

A specific and sensitive assay for phenylethanolamine in tissues is described. By this assay, phenylethanolamine was detected in many peripheral tissues and brains of rats. It is unequally distributed in rat brain, with the highest concentration present in hypothalamus and midbrain. Concentrations of brain phenylethanolamine were elevated after administration of phenylethylamine, phenylalanine,...

n 1664, the first anatomically correct depiction of the sympathetic nervous system came from Thomas Willis and his circle of London anatomists, 1 included in The Anatomy of the Brain and Nerves, 1664 (Figure 1). This, the first work dedicated completely to the nervous system, also described the arterial loops at the base of the brain, which we now know as the Circle of Willis. 1 Christopher Wre...

The role of afferent cardiac sympathetic nerve fibers in the regulation of respiration has been examined. Application of potassium chloride or lactic acid solutions to the left ventricular surface of anesthetized vagotomized dogs resulted in a decrease in the manimum firing rate and shortening in period duration of firing of phrenic nerves. Also, application of the agents caused a decrease in a...

The effect of unilateral decentralization on the circadian rhythm of IOP was examined in rabbits to determine whether postganglionic sympathetic nerves to the eye can play a role in regulating the circadian rhythm of IOP in the absence of input from the central nervous system. Decentralization produced a marked reduction of the dark phase increase of IOP, but had little effect on IOP during the...

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