Dynamic relationship between sympathetic nerve activity and renal blood flow: a frequency domain approach

Blood pressure displays an oscillation at 0.1 Hz in humans that is well established to be due to oscillations in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). However, the mechanisms that control the strength or frequency of this oscillation are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to define the dynamic relationship between SNA and the vasculature. The sympathetic nerves to the kidney were electrically stimulated in six pentobarbital-sodium anesthetized rabbits, and the renal blood flow response was recorded. A pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) was applied to the renal nerves, which contains equal spectral power at frequencies in the range of interest (<1 Hz). Transfer function analysis revealed a complex system composed of low-pass filter characteristics but also with regions of constant gain. A model was developed that accounted for this relationship composed of a 2 zero/4 pole transfer function. Although the position of the poles and zeros varied among animals, the model structure was consistent. We also found the time delay between the stimulus and the RBF responses to be consistent among animals (mean 672 +/- 22 ms). We propose that the identification of the precise relationship between SNA and renal blood flow (RBF) is a fundamental and necessary step toward understanding the interaction between SNA and other physiological mediators of RBF.