Blood pressure pulsations modulate central neuronal activity via mechanosensitive ion channels

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 383; no. 6682; p. eadk8511
• Main Authors: Jammal Salameh, Luna, Bitzenhofer, Sebastian H, Hanganu-Opatz, Ileana L, Dutschmann, Mathias, Egger, Veronica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 02.02.2024
• Subjects: Animals; Aorta; Arousal; Autonomic nervous system; Baroreceptors; Blood Pressure; Blood vessels; Brain; Brain - physiology; Channel gating; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Electrophysiological recording; Entrainment; Evidence; Excitability; Female; Firing pattern; Heart; Heart Rate; Information processing; Intracranial pressure; Intracranial Pressure - physiology; Ion channels; Ion Channels - physiology; Male; Mechanosensitive channels; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mitral cells; Modulation; Networks; Neuromodulation; Neurons; Neurons - physiology; Olfactory bulb; Olfactory Bulb - physiology; Oscillations; Perception; Peristaltic pumps; Pressoreceptors - physiology; Principals; Pulsation; Pulse; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Respiration; Rhythm; Sensory perception; Somatosensory cortex; Synaptic Transmission; Tissues; Transmission lines; Vascular system; Waveforms
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adk8511

The transmission of the heartbeat through the cerebral vascular system causes intracranial pressure pulsations. We discovered that arterial pressure pulsations can directly modulate central neuronal activity. In a semi-intact rat brain preparation, vascular pressure pulsations elicited correlated local field oscillations in the olfactory bulb mitral cell layer. These oscillations did not require synaptic transmission but reflected baroreceptive transduction in mitral cells. This transduction was mediated by a fast excitatory mechanosensitive ion channel and modulated neuronal spiking activity. In awake animals, the heartbeat entrained the activity of a subset of olfactory bulb neurons within ~20 milliseconds. Thus, we propose that this fast, intrinsic interoceptive mechanism can modulate perception-for example, during arousal-within the olfactory bulb and possibly across various other brain areas.