Direct measurement of tonic vagal activity in both awake and anesthetized rats showed no consistent correlation with any common heart rate variability metrics.
Does direct measurement of vagal tone correlate with heart rate variability in rats?
Direct measurement of vagal nerve activity in rats reveals no correlation with heart rate variability, challenging the clinical assumption that HRV is a reliable surrogate for vagal tone.
valor p: p=>0.05
The vagus nerve is the largest autonomic nerve, innervating nearly every organ in the body. "Vagal tone" is a clinical measure believed to indicate overall levels of vagal activity, but is measured indirectly through the heart rate variability (HRV). Abnormal HRV has been associated with many severe conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, and hypertension. However, vagal tone has never been directly measured, leading to disagreements in its interpretation and influencing the effectiveness of vagal therapies. Using custom carbon nanotube yarn electrodes, we were able to chronically record neural activity from the left cervical vagus in both anesthetized and non-anesthetized rats. Here we show that tonic vagal activity does not correlate with common HRV metrics with or without anesthesia. Although we found that average vagal activity is increased during inspiration compared to expiration, this respiratory-linked signal was not correlated with HRV either. These results represent a clear advance in neural recording technology but also point to the need for a re-interpretation of the link between HRV and "vagal tone".
Marmerstein et al. (Wed,) conducted a other in Normal physiology (n=8). Direct measurement of vagal tone was evaluated on Correlation between tonic vagal activity and HRV metrics (p=>0.05). Direct measurement of tonic vagal activity in both awake and anesthetized rats showed no consistent correlation with any common heart rate variability metrics.