Central Neural Mechanisms Of Cardiovascular Regulation

With the help of recent technological advances in the study of cen tral nervous system function, important strides have been made in our knowledge regarding the pathophysiology of high blood pres sure. The understanding of neural mechanisms involved in the reg ulation of the cardiovascular system is of critical importance to the development of rational approaches to both the treatment and pre vention of this disease. It was in this spirit that a satellite symposium of the 13th Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hyper tension was held in June 1990, in Bethesda, Maryland. The chapters, in this first of two volumes on the same general theme, are based on lectures presented at the symposium and it is hoped that these sum maries of recent research findings from prominent laboratories around the world will provide a stimulus for future research. The symposium would not have been possible without generous support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Merck Frosst Canada, G.D. Searle Co., Squibb Institute of Medical Research, Smith, Kline & Beecham Co., Pfizer Co., E.I. Dupont de Nemours Co., Merck, Sharp & Dohme Co., The UpJohn Co., and Wyeth-Ayerst Co. While this volume was being prepared for publication, one of its contributors, Dr. Michael J. Brody, died suddenly. It is with deep sorrow and sympathy that we mourn the loss of our colleague. Dr.

Neural Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Regulation responds to current questions about how neurons in the central and peripheral nervous systems regulate the cardiovascular system. It includes a series of thoughtful reviews that are intended to provoke and illuminate the reader, with the intention of revealing some of the ideas that current practitioners in the field of cardiovascular research are using to generate their current studies.

High blood pressure disease is one of the most prevalent pathological conditions in modem society with potentially serious consequences. During the last two decades major progress has been made in the development of rational approaches to the treatment of high blood pressure. A key factor in this progress has been an increase in our understanding of how the brain controls blood pressure. The chapters in the present book, together with those in a previous volume, provide a broad overview of recent progress in our knowledge of the central neural mechanisms involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. It is our hope that these essays by leading experts in the field will not only provide a useful source of information, but will also stimulate inquiry leading to new discoveries in this critically important field of research. George Kunos John Ciriello vii List of Contributors Jeffrey J. Anderson, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208, USA Katsuyuki Ando, Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tokyo School of Medicine, Tokyo 112, Japan Jaideep S. Bains, Department of Physiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6 Kathleen H. Berecek, Department of Physiology and Biophysics and the Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA Vernon S. Bishop, Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas 78284-7756, USA P. A.

There is increasing awareness that the autonomic nervous system, through its central and peripheral pathways, plays a critical role in the regulation of the circulation. Peripherally, the autonomic representation, largely that of sympathetic nerves, innervate virtually all segments of the vascular tree as well as the adrenal medulla. Through the interaction of nerve terminals, their transmitters, receptors and intracellular mediators in smooth muscle, sympathetic neurons control vascular tone as well as the basal performance of the heart. In turn, the performance of the autonomic nervous system is highly controlled by the brain. Once viewed as a black box with only a vague influence on cardiovascular performance, the introduction of concepts and techniques of neuroscience into the field of cardiovascular medicine has led to the realization of the critical role of this organ in cardiovascular control. It is now well recognized that within the brain, the represenation of cardiovascular function is highly restricted anatomically, engages a number of specific transmitters for its actions, and has highly selective and topographically restricted functions to influence circulatory performance.