title: Onset of exercise increases lumbar sympathetic nerve activity in rats.
abstract: We hypothesized that lumbar sympathetic nerve activity (LSNA) increases at the onset of whole-body dynamic exercise in the rat. To test this hypothesis, we recorded LSNA, heart rate (HR), and arterial pressure (AP) at rest and during a graded exercise test in six adult rats. Rats were instrumented with arterial and venous catheters and recording electrodes around the lumbar sympathetic trunk. Following recovery, each rat ran continuously on a hand-driven or motorized treadmill at 6 m.min-1, 12 m.min-1, and 18 m.min-1 on a 10% grade for approximately 3 min at each workload. Before exercise, mean arterial pressure (MAP), HR, and LSNA averaged 108 +/- 4 mm Hg, 385 +/- 20 bpm, and 100%, respectively. As hypothesized, all variables increased abruptly and dramatically at the onset of treadmill exercise. For example, MAP (117 +/- 5 mm Hg), HR (450 +/- 15 bpm), and LSNA (225 +/- 19%) all increased significantly within the first 25 s of treadmill running at 6 m.min-1. As the exercise continued, there was a progressive increase in HR; however, MAP plateaued at 6 m.min-1 and LSNA plateaued at 12 m.min-1. Since LSNA increased at the onset of whole-body dynamic exercise in the rat, we suggest that the increase in LSNA at the onset of exercise is mediated by a central (feed forward) mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Northeastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine, Rootstown 44272, USA. sdicario@riker.neoucom.edu
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: DiCarlo
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006339:Heart Rate; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000294:innervation*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*