Importance of rostral ventrolateral medulla neurons in determining efferent sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure

• Published in: Hypertension research Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 132 - 141
• Main Authors: Kumagai, Hiroo, Oshima, Naoki, Matsuura, Tomokazu, Iigaya, Kamon, Imai, Masaki, Onimaru, Hiroshi, Sakata, Katsufumi, Osaka, Motohisa, Onami, Toshiko, Takimoto, Chie, Kamayachi, Tadashi, Itoh, Hiroshi, Saruta, Takao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Angiotensin II - pharmacology; Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers - pharmacology; Animals; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Blood Pressure - physiology; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1 - genetics; congenic rat; Electrophysiological Phenomena; Genetic Loci; Humans; Hypertension - physiopathology; Hypertension - therapy; Kidney - innervation; Kidney - physiology; Linear Models; Medulla Oblongata - cytology; Medulla Oblongata - drug effects; Medulla Oblongata - physiology; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - physiology; Neurons, Efferent - drug effects; Neurons, Efferent - physiology; Nonlinear Dynamics; optical imaging; patch-clamp technique; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Review Series; RVLM neurons; Sodium - physiology; Spinal Cord - cytology; Spinal Cord - drug effects; Spinal Cord - physiology; sympathetic nervous system; Sympathetic Nervous System - drug effects; Sympathetic Nervous System - physiology; Synapses - physiology

Accentuated sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) is a risk factor for cardiovascular events. In this review, we investigate our working hypothesis that potentiated activity of neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is the primary cause of experimental and essential hypertension. Over the pa...