Deciphering the neural signature of human cardiovascular regulation

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.55316
• Publication Date: 2020-07-28T11:00:35Z
• Authors: Jorge Manuel; Natalia Färber; Darius A Gerlach; Karsten Heusser; Jens Jordan; Jens Tank; Florian Beissner
• Keywords: Adult; Central Nervous System; Male; medicine; Leitungsbereich ME; QH301-705.5; Science; Blood Pressure; brainstem; neuroscience; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; cardiovascular regulation; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Heart Rate; Humans; human; hypothalamus; Biology (General); Human Biology and Medicine; Aged; Monitoring, Physiologic; Aged, 80 and over; fMRI; autonomic nervous system; Q; R; human biology; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; Kardiovaskuläre Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin; Medicine; Female; Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin

Cardiovascular regulation is integral to life. Animal studies have identified both neural and endocrine pathways, by which the central nervous system adjusts cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance to changing physiological demands. The outflow of these pathways is coordinated by various central nervous regions based on afferent information from baroreceptors, chemoreceptors, nociceptors, and circulating hormones, and is modulated by physiologic and behavioural state. In humans, however, knowledge on central cardiovascular regulation below the cortical level is scarce. Here, we show using functional MRI (fMRI) that at least three hypothalamic subsystems are involved in cardiovascular regulation in humans. The rhythmic behaviour of these systems corresponds to high and low frequency oscillations typically seen in blood pressure and heart rate variability.