Physical Activity Dependent Plasticity CNS Sympathetic Nervous System Regulation

描述(申请人提供)：久坐的生活方式是心血管疾病的主要风险因素，心血管疾病是美国主要的死亡原因。与缺乏运动有关的心血管疾病与交感神经系统的过度活动有关。申请者的长期目标是了解久坐的生活方式导致心血管疾病发病率增加的机制。目前这项提议的目的是检验这样一个假设，即不运动和运动会导致脑干中特定神经元群体的结构和功能发生差异变化，这些神经元对血压调节至关重要。为了实现这项建议的目标，国际和平研究所在密苏里大学和澳大利亚弗林德斯研究所组建了一个专家小组。我们希望在这个为期两年的项目结束时，确定体育活动和不活动在多大程度上调节延髓头端腹外侧区脊髓投射神经元的结构和功能。强劲的初步数据和之前公布的数据支持这些具有挑衅性和独一无二的假设。这项提议的结果将使人们更好地了解久坐不动的生活方式对心血管健康的有害影响，并确定治疗和预防心血管疾病的潜在治疗目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Cardiovascular diseases related to physical inactivity are associated with overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. The long term goal of the applicant is to understand the mechanisms by which a sedentary lifestyle contributes to the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. The objective of the current proposal is to test the hypothesis that physical inactivity versus physical activity produces differential alterations in the structure and function of a specific population of neurons in the brainstem that are critical for blood pressure regulation. In order to achieve the objectives of this proposal, the PI has assembled an expert team at the University of Missouri and the Flinders Institute in Australia. We expect to establish at the end of this two year project the extent to which physical activity and inactivity regulates the structure and function of spinally projecting neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla. Strong preliminary data and previously published data support these provocative and unique hypotheses. The results of this proposal will provide a greater understanding of the detrimental effects of a sedentary lifestyle on cardiovascular health and define potential therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.