The Role of Coronary Artery Baroreceptors in Cardiopulmonary Reflexes

血管和心脏包含传感器，它们向大脑报告血液循环的状态。血管传感器向大脑发送有关血压水平的信息，大脑协调心脏和血管活动的适当变化，使血压保持在狭窄的范围内，从而保护流向大脑的血液。心脏传感器向大脑发送有关心脏压力和心脏疼痛时化学物质释放的信息。专门的压力感受器，如血管上的感受器，最近被报道存在于心脏的主要血管上，尽管没有得到广泛的研究，但很可能向大脑发送信息，参与血压调节，保护心脏的血液供应。这些心脏受体通常与血管受体协同工作，并被其掩盖。在心血管疾病中，这种协调和互补的相互作用可能会失去，导致相互矛盾的信号被发送到大脑，并发生不适当的调节反应。为了研究这些心脏受体的功能我们将比较连接心脏受体的神经和连接血管受体的神经的数量和类型来告诉我们它们的功能是否可能相似。我们将激活健康意识动物的心脏受体，观察血压、心率、呼吸模式和不同器官的血流量会发生什么变化。最后，我们将使用脑成像技术来观察当心脏受体兴奋时哪些脑细胞兴奋，以及脑细胞记录技术来确定单个脑细胞如何对心脏或血管信息作出反应。这些研究将提供关于心脏传感器的重要新信息，并帮助我们了解这些传感器在心脏病或心脏病发作中的作用。这一知识将有助于开发治疗心脏病的有效新方法。

The blood vessels and heart contain sensors that report on the state of the circulation to the brain. Blood vessel sensors send information about the level of blood pressure to the brain, and the brain coordinates appropriate changes in the activity of the heart and blood vessels so that blood pressure stays within narrow limits and blood flow to the brain is protected. Heart sensors send information to the brain about pressures in the heart and the release of chemicals during heart pain. Specialized pressure receptors, like the receptors on blood vessels, have recently been reported to exist on the main blood vessels in the heart and, although not extensively studied, likely send information to the brain to participate in blood pressure regulation and to protect the supply of blood to the heart. These heart receptors normally work in concert with, and overshadowed by, the blood vessel receptors. In cardiovascular disease this concerted and complimentary interaction may be lost, resulting in contradictory signals being sent to the brain and inappropriate regulatory responses occurring. To study the functions of these heart receptors we will compare the number and types of nerves going to the heart receptors with the nerves that go to the blood vessel receptors to tell us whether their functions are likely to be similar. We will activate the heart receptors in healthy conscious animals to see what happens to blood pressure, heart rate, breathing patterns and blood flow to different organs. Finally we will use brain mapping techniques to see which brain cells are excited when the heart receptors are excited, and brain cell recording techniques to determine how individual brain cells respond to heart or vessel information. These studies will provide important new information about heart sensors, and help us understand the role these sensors have in heart disease or heart attack. This knowledge will aid the development of effective new ways of treating heart disease.