Altered cardiovascular responses to glossopharyngeal nerve stimulation in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Alterations in arterial blood pressure and heart rate in response to electrical stimulation of glossopharyngeal nerve (GPN) were examined in 6-10 months old, male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) normotensive rats. GPN stimulation resulted in frequency-dependent decreases in arterial blood pressure in both SHR and WKY rats. SHR were more sensitive to GPN stimulation than WKY controls. Vasodepressor responses to GPN stimulation were greater in SHR than in WKY rats over a wide range of stimulus frequencies. At the frequency which produced the maximum response (50 Hz) the vasodepressor response was 68% greater in SHR than in WKY control. The results, indicate that neurogenically-induced vasodepression is enhanced in SHR, suggesting that decreased vasodepressor capacity mediated through the central nervous system is not involved in the maintenance of elevated blood pressure in SHR. In contrast to increased vasodepressor responses in SHR, GPN stimulation produced less bradycardia in SHR than it did in WKY rats. This difference may be central in origin because peripheral vagal stimulation produced essentially equal bradycardia in SHR and WKY normotensives.