Correlations between the autonomic modulation of heart rate, blood pressure and the pupillary light reflex in healthy subjects

Information on autonomic modulation can be derived from different organs that are innervated by the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, when assessing e.g. heart rate or blood pressure fluctuations or the pupil's reaction to light. Correlations between parameters from different target organs might reveal information on hierarchically higher centres of autonomic integration. Here, we obtained parameters of heart rate variability, blood pressure variability, baroreflex function and light reaction pupillography from 50 individuals and tested the hypothesis that these are associated. Pupil diameter and constriction latency significantly correlated with parameters of heart rate variability, but not with those of blood pressure variability. In contrast, relative amplitude significantly correlated with blood pressure variability only. In conclusion, the different branches of the autonomic nervous system examined here are not associated unequivocally but show a distinct pattern of interrelations in healthy subjects. Examinations as described here might add to the diagnosis of autonomic dysfunction and reveal differential patterns in certain disease states.

[1]  H. Sauer,et al.  Decreased baroreflex sensitivity in acute schizophrenia. , 2007, Journal of applied physiology.

[2]  G. Calcagnini,et al.  of the 23 rd Annual EMBS International Conference , October 25-28 , Istanbul , Turkey BARORECEPTOR-SENSITIVE FLUCTUATIONS OF HEART RATE AND PUPIL DIAMETER , 2004 .

[3]  A. Malliani,et al.  Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use , 1996 .

[4]  Andreas Voss,et al.  The interaction between pupil function and cardiovascular regulation in patients with acute schizophrenia , 2008, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[5]  K. Bär,et al.  Reduced cardio-respiratory coupling in acute alcohol withdrawal. , 2008, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[6]  A Pedotti,et al.  A new approach to analysis of the arterial baroreflex. , 1985, Journal of hypertension. Supplement : official journal of the International Society of Hypertension.

[7]  R. McAllen,et al.  Cardiac inotropic, chronotropic, and dromotropic actions of subretrofacial neurons of cat RVLM. , 1999, American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology.

[8]  J. Peňáz,et al.  [Contribution to the continuous indirect blood pressure measurement]. , 1976, Zeitschrift fur die gesamte innere Medizin und ihre Grenzgebiete.

[9]  Reduced baroreflex sensitivity in acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome and in abstained alcoholics. , 2006 .

[10]  S. Malpas.  Neural influences on cardiovascular variability: possibilities and pitfalls. , 2002, American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.

[11]  S. Porges,et al.  Cardiac vagal tone and sustained attention in school-age children. , 1994, Psychophysiology.

[12]  M. Craig,et al.  Autonomic Nerve Testing Predicts the Development of Complications , 2007, Diabetes Care.

[13]  H. Sauer,et al.  Heart rate variability and sympathetic skin response in male patients suffering from acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome. , 2006, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[14]  P. Borgdorff,et al.  Respiratory fluctuations in pupil size. , 1975, The American journal of physiology.

[15]  W. Jänig.  Integrative Action of the Autonomic Nervous System: Neurobiology of Homeostasis , 2006 .

[16]  Wilfrid Jänig.  The Integrative Action of the Autonomic Nervous System: Anatomy of central autonomic systems , 2006 .

[17]  G. Wagner,et al.  Loss of efferent vagal activity in acute schizophrenia. , 2005, Journal of psychiatric research.

[18]  Abraham Lempel,et al.  A universal algorithm for sequential data compression , 1977, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory.

[19]  J. Kurths,et al.  The application of methods of non-linear dynamics for the improved and predictive recognition of patients threatened by sudden cardiac death. , 1996, Cardiovascular research.

[20]  K. Bär,et al.  Non-linear complexity measures of heart rate variability in acute schizophrenia , 2007, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[21]  Mathias Baumert,et al.  HERZFREQUENZ- UND BLUTDRUCKINTERAKTION BEI NORMOTENSIVER UND CHRONISCH HYPERTENSIVER SCHWANGERSCHAFT , 2002 .

[22]  Jonathan Rottenberg,et al.  Cardiac vagal control in depression: A critical analysis , 2007, Biological Psychology.

[23]  J. Kurths,et al.  Quantitative analysis of heart rate variability. , 1995, Chaos.

[24]  J. Thayer,et al.  Beyond Heart Rate Variability , 2006, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[25]  Tannis A. Johnson,et al.  Can neurons in the nucleus ambiguus selectively regulate cardiac rate and atrio-ventricular conduction? , 1996, Journal of the autonomic nervous system.

[26]  A Kawasaki,et al.  Physiology, assessment, and disorders of the pupil. , 1999, Current opinion in ophthalmology.

[27]  M. Siddiqui,et al.  Assessment of cardiovascular autonomic function. , 1995, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

[28]  Gian Domenico Pinna,et al.  Baroreflex Sensitivity: Measurement and Clinical Implications , 2008, Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc.

[29]  S Cerutti,et al.  Spontaneous fluctuations of human pupil reflect central autonomic rhythms. , 2000, Methods of information in medicine.

[30]  A Voss,et al.  [Heart rate and blood pressure interaction in normotensive and chronic hypertensive pregnancy]. , 2002, Biomedizinische Technik. Biomedical engineering.

[31]  Georg Michelson,et al.  Pupillography refines the diagnosis of diabetic autonomic neuropathy , 2004, Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

[32]  Karl-Jürgen Bär,et al.  Lateralization of Pupillary Light Reflex Parameters , 2004 .

[33]  G. Breithardt,et al.  Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. , 1996 .

[34]  A Voss,et al.  Linear and nonlinear methods for analyses of cardiovascular variability in bipolar disorders. , 2006, Bipolar disorders.

[35]  A Schirdewan,et al.  Forecasting of Life Threatening Arrhythmias Using the Compression Entropy of Heart Rate , 2004, Methods of Information in Medicine.