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Increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity during delayed auditory feedback in humans
T Matsukawa1, Y Sugiyama, T Mano
1Department of Autonomic and Behavioral Neurosciences, Nagoya University, Japan.
The Japanese Journal of Physiology
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Mental stress significantly elevates blood pressure and activates sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). A delayed auditory feedback task amplified these effects, increasing muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and norepinephrine levels.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Stress Research
Background:
- Mental stress is known to affect cardiovascular function.
- The specific impact of stress on sympathetic nerve activity requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of mental stress on muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA).
- To compare the physiological responses to reading aloud with and without delayed auditory feedback (DAF).
Main Methods:
- Microneurography was used to measure MSNA in the tibial nerve of five healthy men.
- Subjects performed a reading aloud task with and without a 200 ms DAF.
- Mean blood pressure, plasma norepinephrine levels, and heart rate were monitored.
Main Results:
- Mean blood pressure significantly increased during reading, with a more exaggerated response during DAF.
- MSNA and plasma norepinephrine levels significantly increased during reading with DAF, but not without.
- Heart rate showed a mild, similar increase in both conditions.
Conclusions:
- Mental stress, particularly under DAF conditions, activates sympathetic nerve activity.
- DAF exacerbates the pressor response and sympathetic activation induced by mental stress.
- These findings highlight the role of sympathetic nervous system in mediating cardiovascular responses to stress.