Chronic isolation of carotid sinus baroreceptor region in conscious normotensive and hypertensive rats

We have developed a chronic technique to isolate the carotid sinus baroreceptor region in the conscious rat model. Our technique, when used in conjunction with other methods, allows for the study of the control of arterial pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output by the carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex in conscious, unrestrained rats. The performance of our technique was evaluated in two strains: normotensive Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Each rat was instrumented with an aortic flow probe and a catheter placed in the right femoral artery to monitor cardiac output and arterial pressure, respectively. The cervical sympathetic trunk and aortic depressor nerve were ligated and cut bilaterally, leaving vagus nerves intact. The right and left carotid sinuses were isolated using our new technique. We tested the open-loop function of the carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex system in the conscious rat after recovery from the isolation surgery. We found that changes in nonpulsatile carotid sinus pressure caused significant changes in arterial pressure, heart rate, and total peripheral resistance in both rat strains. However, the cardiac output responses differed dramatically between strains. Significant changes were seen in the cardiac output response of SHR, whereas no significant changes were observed in normotensive SD rats. We have found this technique to be a highly reliable tool for the study of the carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex system in the conscious rat.