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Activities in a single sensory fiber of the aortic depressor nerve were derived from multiple encoders (1132.8)
Author(s) -
Liu Jun,
Song Nana,
Tian Shifu,
Guardiola Juan,
Proctor Mary,
Yu Jerry
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.1132.8
Subject(s) - baroreceptor , sensory system , neuroscience , anatomy , phenylephrine , blood pressure , medicine , biology , heart rate
Arterial baroreceptors, resembling airway slowly adapting receptors (SARs) that regulate breathing, play a very important role in the regulation of blood pressure. However, the sensory processing mechanisms at the cellular level remain unclear. Recently, a SAR unit was found to contain multiple encoders. Therefore, we hypothesize that a barosensory unit is the same. We used immunofluorescent approach to examine the baroreceptor structure in rabbit aortic arches morphologically. A single myelinated axon may connect with multiple structures, clustered in the aortic arch near the bifurcation or origin of the common carotid and subclavian arteries, forming a network. Physiologically, we recorded single‐unit activity in the depressor nerve in anesthetized rabbits and examined their response to phenylephrine. The unit activity increased progressively as blood pressure (BP) increased and decreased abruptly (deactivation) after the BP attained a plateau for about 2 min. Their activity became slow first (indicating multiple encoders) and subsequently ceased. The unit could be reactivated by lowering BP and deactivated again by raising BP. Since baroreceptors resemble SARs morphologically and electrophysiologically, we conclude that a single barosensory unit contains multiple encoders. Thus, the sensory unit is not only a transducer but also a processor that integrates a significant amount of information. Grant Funding Source : VA Merit Review PULM‐029‐10S