Contrasting open-loop dynamic characteristics of sympathetic and vagal systems during baroreflex-mediated heart rate control in rats

Although heart rate (HR) is governed by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, a head-to-head comparison of the open-loop dynamic characteristics of the total arc from a baroreceptor pressure input to the HR response has yet to be performed. We estimated the transfer function from carotid sinus pressure input to the HR response ( H CSP→HR ) before and after bilateral vagotomy ( n = 7) as well as before and after the administration of a β-blocker propranolol ( n = 8) in anesthetized male Wistar-Kyoto rats. The carotid sinus pressure was perturbed according to a Gaussian white noise signal so that the input power spectra were relatively flat between 0.01 and 1 Hz. The gain plot of H CSP→HR was V-shaped. Vagotomy reduced the dynamic gain at 1 Hz (0.0598 ± 0.0065 to 0.0025 ± 0.0004 beats·min −1 ·mmHg −1 , P < 0.001) but not at 0.01 or 0.1 Hz. β-Blockade reduced the dynamic gain at 0.01 Hz (0.247 ± 0.069 to 0.077 ± 0.017 beats·min −1 ·mmHg −1 , P = 0.020) but not at 0.1 or 1 Hz. We also estimated the efferent limb transfer function from electrical vagal efferent stimulation to the HR response ( H VN→HR ) under β-blockade conditions. We associated the model parameters of H VN→HR with the mean HR and the standard deviation of HR so that H VN→HR could be estimated based only on the HR data. We finally estimated the neural arc transfer function from a pressure input to efferent vagal nerve activity by dividing H CSP→HR by H VN→HR . The mathematically determined vagal neural arc showed derivative characteristics with its phase near zero radians at the lowest frequency.