title: Heart rate variability in mice: a theoretical and practical guide.
abstract: The mouse is the animal model principally used to study biological processes in mammals. The mutation, overexpression or knockout of one or several genes can provide insight into human disease. In cardiovascular research, evaluation of autonomic nervous function is an essential tool for a better understanding of the pathophysiological conditions in which cardiomyopathy arises and develops. Analysis of heart rate variability is the least invasive method to evaluate the sympathovagal balance on the sino-atrial level. The need to perform this technique on freely moving mice emerged in the 1990s, but despite previous studies it has been difficult to set up and standardize a common protocol. The multitudes of techniques used, plus subtle differences in methodology, impede the comparison and clear interpretation of results. This article aims to make a survey of heart rate variability analysis and to establish a standardized protocol for the assessment of the autonomic neural regulation of heart rate in mice.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherce 6542, Laboratoire de Physiologie des Cellules Cardiaques et Vasculaires, Université François-Rabelais, Faculté des Sciences, 31 Avenue Monge, Parc de Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thireau
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poisson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Babuty
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000503:physiopathology; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013686:Telemetry