Alterations of medial prefrontal cortex bioelectrical activity in experimental model of isoprenaline-induced myocardial infarction

Abstract

Background Clinical and animal studies have found that anxiety and depression are significantly more common after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) has a dual role: in higher brain functions and in cardiovascular control, making it a logical candidate for explaining the perceived bidirectional heart-brain connection. We used parallel Electrocardiography (ECG) and Electrocorticography (ECoG) registration to investigate AMI-induced changes in medial PFC bioelectrical activity in a rat model of AMI. Materials and methods Adult male Wistar albino rats were used in the study. Gold-plated recording electrodes were implanted over the frontal cortex for ECoG recording. ECG was recorded via two holter electrodes attached on the skin of the back fixed in place by a jacket. Induction of AMI was performed by isoprenaline (150 mg/kg, i.p.). ECoG and ECG signals were registered at baseline, during 3 hours after isoprenaline administration and at 24 hours after isoprenaline administration. Results Significant increases of theta, alpha, and beta electroencephalographic (EEG) band power were observed in different time intervals after isoprenaline administration. Significant increase of theta band peak frequency was also observed during the first hour after isoprenaline administration. No statistically significant differences in band-power activity were found between the pre-isoprenaline measurements and 24 hours after administration. Conclusion Our results demonstrate significant increases in EEG band power of alpha beta and theta bands during isoprenaline-induced AMI model. These are the first findings to connect heart damage during isoprenaline- induced AMI to disturbances in the cortical bioelectrical activity. © 2020 Vorkapić et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The study was supported by Ministry of Science Education and Technological Development of Serbia, Grant No. 175032 and 175016. The TECNALIA provided support in the form of salary for author MI, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript