Simultaneous noninvasive recording of electrocardiogram and skin sympathetic nerve activity (neuECG)

• Published in: Nature Protocols Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 1853 - 1877
• Main Authors: Kusayama, Takashi, Wong, Johnson, Liu, Xiao, He, Wenbo, Doytchinova, Anisiia, Robinson, Eric A., Adams, David E., Chen, Lan S., Lin, Shien-Fong, Davoren, Katherine, Victor, Ronald G., Cai, Cheng, Dai, Ming-Yan, Tian, Ying, Zhang, Pei, Ernst, Dereen, Rho, Richard H., Chen, Minglong, Cha, Yong-Mei, Walega, David R., Everett, Thomas H., Chen, Peng-Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Science and Business Media LLC 01.05.2020; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/1647/1453/1448; 631/378/2607; 631/443/376; 631/443/592/75/29; Amputation; Analytical Chemistry; Bandpass filters; Biological Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cardiac muscle; Cardiovascular diseases; Computational Biology/Bioinformatics; Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; EKG; Electric properties; Electrocardiogram; Electrocardiography; Electrophysiology; Frequency ranges; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Life Sciences; Measurement; Methods; Microarrays; Microneurography; Muscles; Nerves; Nervous system, Sympathetic; Organic Chemistry; Physiological aspects; Protocol; Recording; Skin; Skin - innervation; Sympathetic nerves; Sympathetic Nervous System; Taste; Worms; United States
• ISSN: 1754-2189; 1750-2799; 1750-2799
• DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0316-6

neuECG, the simultaneous noninvasive recording of ECG and skin sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA), directly records sympathetic nerve activity over a long period of time. It can be used to measure sympathetic tone in healthy subjects and in subjects with non-cardiovascular diseases. The electrical activity that can be measured on the surface of the skin originates from the heart, the muscle or nerve structures. Because the frequency content of nerve activity falls in a higher frequency range than that of the ECG and myopotential, it is possible to use high-pass or band-pass filtering to specifically isolate the SKNA. neuECG is voltage calibrated and does not require invasive procedures to impale electrodes in nerves and thus has advantages over microneurography. Here, we present a protocol that takes <10 min to set up. The neuECG can be continuously recorded over a 24-h period or longer. We also describe methods to efficiently analyze neuECG from humans using commercially available hardware and software to facilitate adoption of this technology in clinical research. neuECG is the simultaneous noninvasive recording of ECG and skin sympathetic nerve activity and thus can directly record sympathetic nerve activity over a long period of time without the need for invasive procedures.