Vagal stimulation and cardiac chronotropy in rats.
Increasing frequencies of electrical stimulation of the right vagus nerve in the rat yielded a progressive lengthening of heart periods. Stimulation was capable of driving vagal control of cardiac chronotropy over its full physiological dynamic range, to the point of sinus block. The steady-state transfer function between vagal stimulation frequency and cardiac chronotropy was approximately linear, with a slope of 7.4 ms/Hz. The linearity of the stimulation-heart period function is consistent with previous reports in dogs, rabbits and humans, although the slope of the function was considerably lower in the rat.
Berntson
G G
GG
Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43212.
Quigley
K S
KS
Fabro
V J
VJ
Cacioppo
J T
JT
D000818:Animals; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*