It is well-established that the brainstem contains the neural circuitry responsible
for maintaining muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Additionally, behavioral
state changes which can be generated from high-order processing sites such as the
cingulate and prefrontal cortices, send projections either directly or indirectly
to the brainstem to alter blood pressure, heart rate and MSNA. Over the past half
century, experimental animal investigations have delineated the brainstem circuitry
responsible for generating sympathetic nerve activity which has recently been confirmed
in awake healthy humans using concurrent microneurography and functional magnetic
resonance imaging. The aim of this presentation is to describe the brainstem circuitry
responsible for generating resting MSNA in humans and altered MSNA in disease states
such as obstructive sleep apnea. In addition, brainstem sites responsible for generating
behaviorally-coupled changes in MSNA, such as those evoked by acute noxious stimuli
will be discussed. Finally, changes in brainstem structure associated with changes
MSNA will be discussed as well as the possible underlying neural mechanisms.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and ClinicalAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
Article info
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
