SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DIFFERING CONTROL OF SYMPATHETIC ACTIVITIES DURING HEMORRHAGE

We performed simultaneous multifiber recordings of cardiac, renal (RNA), hepatic (HNA), adrenal, and splenic sympathetic nerve activities during 10 min of sustained hemorrhagic hypotension to a mean blood pressure of 50 mmHg. One minute after bleeding in dogs with intact baroreceptors, all measured nerve activities increased significantly, and a gradual decline toward prebleeding level followed. Only RNA showed a great inhibition below prebleeding level. In cervically vagotomized dogs, all nerve activities showed significantly higher levels than prebleeding control throughout the experiment. The initial increase in HNA observed at 1 min postbleeding in animals with intact baroreceptors was attenuated. HNA in the vagotomized group showed a gradual increase so that 5 min postbleeding, HNA reached a peak level that was maintained until the end of the experiment. Sympathoinhibition in RNA and decrease in heart rate during hemorrhagic hypotension were reversed to significant increases after vagotomy. In contrast, animals with denervation of the carotid sinus and aortic nerves showed initial increases in nerve activities followed by recovery to prebleeding control level within 2 min postbleeding. After complete denervation of systemic baroreceptors, rapid hemorrhage did not cause any significant change in sympathetic nerve activity in any nerve. These results indicate that early reflex response to hemorrhage in regional sympathetic nerves is unidirectional sympathoexcitation mediated by summative unloading of both arterial baroreceptors and cardiopulmonary receptors. When > 1 min passed after bleeding and sustained hypotension of 50 mmHg was established, a reflex mechanism through the vagal afferents participated to inhibit the unidirectional sympathoexcitation mediated by unloading of arterial baroreceptors, with different magnitude in different innervated organs. These temporal and spatial differing reflex controls of regional sympathetic outflow play an important role in a well-balanced adjustment of cardiac performance and maintenance of circulatory homeostasis during rapid short-term hemorrhagic hypotension.