Ventilation inhibits sympathetic action potential recruitment even during severe chemoreflex stress

This study investigated the influence of ventilation on sympathetic action potential (AP) discharge patterns during varying levels of high chemoreflex stress. In seven trained breath-hold divers (age 33 ± 12 yr), we measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) at baseline, during preparatory rebreathing (RBR), and during 1) functional residual capacity apnea (FRC Apnea ) and 2) continued RBR. Data from RBR were analyzed at matched (i.e., to FRC Apnea ) hemoglobin saturation (HbSat) levels (RBR Matched ) or more severe levels (RBR End ). A third protocol compared alternating periods (30 s) of FRC and RBR (FRC-RBR ALT ). Subjects continued each protocol until 85% volitional tolerance. AP patterns in MSNA (i.e., providing the true neural content of each sympathetic burst) were studied using wavelet-based methodology. First, for similar levels of chemoreflex stress (both HbSat: 71 ± 6%; P = NS), RBR Matched was associated with reduced AP frequency and APs per burst compared with FRC Apnea (both P < 0.001). When APs were binned according to peak-to-peak amplitude (i.e., into clusters), total AP clusters increased during FRC Apnea (+10 ± 2; P < 0.001) but not during RBR Matched (+1 ± 2; P = NS). Second, despite more severe chemoreflex stress during RBR End (HbSat: 56 ± 13 vs. 71 ± 6%; P < 0.001), RBR End was associated with a restrained increase in the APs per burst (FRC Apnea : +18 ± 7; RBR End : +11 ± 5) and total AP clusters (FRC Apnea : +10 ± 2; RBR End : +6 ± 4) (both P < 0.01). During FRC-RBR ALT , all periods of FRC elicited sympathetic AP recruitment (all P < 0.001), whereas all periods of RBR were associated with complete withdrawal of AP recruitment (all P = NS). Presently, we demonstrate that ventilation per se restrains and/or inhibits sympathetic axonal recruitment during high, and even extreme, chemoreflex stress. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The current study demonstrates that the sympathetic neural recruitment patterns observed during chemoreflex activation induced by rebreathing or apnea are restrained and/or inhibited by the act of ventilation per se, despite similar, or even greater, levels of severe chemoreflex stress. Therefore, ventilation modulates not only the timing of sympathetic bursts but also the within-burst axonal recruitment normally observed during progressive chemoreflex stress.