Vagal Blocking for Obesity Control : a Possible Mechanism-Of-Action

14 September 2016 Erratum to: Vagal Blocking for Obesity Control: a Possible Mechanism-Of-Action Helene Johannessen, David Revesz, Yosuke Kodama, Nikki Cassie, Karolina P Skibicka, Perry Barrett, Suzanne Dickson, Jens Holst, Jens Rehfeld, Geoffrey van der Plasse, Roger Adan, Bård Kulseng, Elinor Ben-Menachem, Chun-Mei Zhao, Duan Chen, 2016, 2016. Obesity surgery. In the original article on page 4 the figures are referred to as (Fig. 1b-d) and (Fig. 1e) in the text. The correct reference is (Fig. 1b-e) and (Fig. 1f), respectively. In the original article on page 5 the figures are referred to as (Fig. 3c) and (Fig. 3d) in the text. The correct reference is (Fig. 3c,d) and (Fig. 3e,f), respectively. Peer reviewedPostprin

Reduced heart rate variability predicts fatigue severity in individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an objective, non-invasive tool to assessing autonomic dysfunction in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). People with CFS/ME tend to have lower HRV; however, in the literature there are only a few previous studies (most of them inconclusive) on their association with illness-related complaints. To address this issue, we assessed the value of different diurnal HRV parameters as potential biomarker in CFS/ME and also investigated the relationship between these HRV indices and self-reported symptoms in individuals with CFS/ME.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Transcranial direct current stimulation improves the QT variability index and autonomic cardiac control in healthy subjects older than 60 years

Background: Noninvasive brain stimulation technique is an interesting tool to investigate the causal relation between cortical functioning and autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses. Objective: The objective of this report is to evaluate whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the temporal cortex influences short-period temporal ventricular repolarization dispersion and cardiovascular ANS control in elderly subjects. Subjects and methods: In 50 healthy subjects (29 subjects younger than 60 years and 21 subjects older than 60 years) matched for gender, short-period RR and systolic blood pressure spectral variability, QT variability index (QTVI), and noninvasive hemodynamic data were obtained during anodal tDCS or sham stimulation. Results: In the older group, the QTVI, low-frequency (LF) power expressed in normalized units, the ratio between LF and high-frequency (HF) power, and systemic peripheral resistances decreased, whereas HF power expressed in normalized units and α HF power increased during the active compared to the sham condition (P,0.05). Conclusion: In healthy subjects older than 60 years, tDCS elicits cardiovascular and autonomic changes. Particularly, it improves temporal ventricular repolarization dispersion, reduces sinus sympathetic activity and systemic peripheral resistance, and increases vagal sinus activity and baroreflex sensitivity

Comparing the cardiac autonomic activity profile of daytime naps and nighttime sleep.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a reliable technique to evaluate autonomic activity and shows marked changes across a night of sleep. Previous nighttime sleep findings report changes in HRV during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), which have been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. Daytime sleep, however, has been linked with both positive and negative cardiovascular outcomes. Yet, no studies have directly compared HRV profiles during an ecologically-valid daytime nap in healthy, well-rested adults to that of nighttime sleep. Using a within-subjects design, 32 people took a daytime nap and slept overnight in the lab at least one week apart; both sleep sessions had polysomnography, including electrocardiography (ECG), recorded. We measured inter-beat intervals (RR), total power (TP), low frequency power (LF; .04-.15 Hz), and high frequency power (HF; .15-.40 Hz) components of HRV during NREM and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Compared to the nap, we found longer RR intervals and decreased heart rate during the night for both Stage 2 and SWS and increased TP, LF and HF power during nighttime Stage 2 sleep only; however, no differences in the LFHF ratio or normalized HF power were found between the nap and the night. Also, no differences in REM sleep between the nap and night were detected. Similar relationships emerged when comparing the nap to one cycle of nighttime sleep. These findings suggest that longer daytime naps, with both SWS and REM, may provide similar cardiovascular benefits as nocturnal sleep. In light of the on-going debate surrounding the health benefits and/or risks associated with napping, these results suggest that longer daytime naps in young, healthy adults may support cardiac down-regulation similar to nighttime sleep. In addition, napping paradigms may serve as tools to explore sleep-related changes in autonomic activity in both healthy and at-risk populations

The SNAPSHOT study protocol : SNAcking, Physical activity, Self-regulation, and Heart rate Over Time

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Macaque cardiac physiology is sensitive to the valence of passively viewed sensory stimuli.

Autonomic nervous system activity is an important component of affective experience. We demonstrate in the rhesus monkey that both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system respond differentially to the affective valence of passively viewed video stimuli. We recorded cardiac impedance and an electrocardiogram while adult macaques watched a series of 300 30-second videos that varied in their affective content. We found that sympathetic activity (as measured by cardiac pre-ejection period) increased and parasympathetic activity (as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia) decreased as video content changes from positive to negative. These findings parallel the relationship between autonomic nervous system responsivity and valence of stimuli in humans. Given the relationship between human cardiac physiology and affective processing, these findings suggest that macaque cardiac physiology may be an index of affect in nonverbal animals

Motion sickness, stress and the endocannabinoid system

A substantial number of individuals are at risk for the development of motion sickness induced nausea and vomiting (N&V) during road, air or sea travel. Motion sickness can be extremely stressful but the neurobiologic mechanisms leading to motion sickness are not clear. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) represents an important neuromodulator of stress and N&V. Inhibitory effects of the ECS on N&V are mediated by endocannabinoid-receptor activation

An overview of current approaches and future challenges in physiological monitoring

Sufficient evidence exists from laboratory studies to suggest that physiological measures can be useful as an adjunct to behavioral and subjective measures of human performance and capabilities. Thus it is reasonable to address the conceptual and engineering challenges that arise in applying this technology in operational settings. Issues reviewed include the advantages and disadvantages of constructs such as mental states, the need for physiological measures of performance, areas of application for physiological measures in operational settings, which measures appear to be most useful, problem areas that arise in the use of these measures in operational settings, and directions for future development

A gut-to-brain signal of fluid osmolarity controls thirst satiation.

Satiation is the process by which eating and drinking reduce appetite. For thirst, oropharyngeal cues have a critical role in driving satiation by reporting to the brain the volume of fluid that has been ingested1-12. By contrast, the mechanisms that relay the osmolarity of ingested fluids remain poorly understood. Here we show that the water and salt content of the gastrointestinal tract are precisely measured and then rapidly communicated to the brain to control drinking behaviour in mice. We demonstrate that this osmosensory signal is necessary and sufficient for satiation during normal drinking, involves the vagus nerve and is transmitted to key forebrain neurons that control thirst and vasopressin secretion. Using microendoscopic imaging, we show that individual neurons compute homeostatic need by integrating this gastrointestinal osmosensory information with oropharyngeal and blood-borne signals. These findings reveal how the fluid homeostasis system monitors the osmolarity of ingested fluids to dynamically control drinking behaviour