Carnevali Luca, Sgoifo Andrea
Stress Physiology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma Parma, Italy.
Front Physiol. 2014 Mar 24;5:118. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00118. eCollection 2014.
In humans, there are large individual differences in the levels of vagal modulation of resting heart rate (HR). High levels are a recognized index of cardiac health, whereas low levels are considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Several factors are thought to contribute significantly to this inter-individual variability. While regular physical exercise seems to induce an increase in resting vagal tone, chronic life stress, and psychosocial factors such as negative moods and personality traits appear associated with vagal withdrawal. Preclinical research has been attempting to clarify such relationships and to provide insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying vagal tone impairment/enhancement. This paper focuses on rat studies that have explored the effects of stress, psychosocial factors and physical exercise on vagal modulation of resting HR. Results are discussed with regard to: (i) individual differences in resting vagal tone, cardiac stress reactivity and arrhythmia vulnerability; (ii) elucidation of the neurobiological determinants of resting vagal tone.
在人类中，静息心率（HR）的迷走神经调节水平存在很大的个体差异。高水平是心脏健康的公认指标，而低水平则被认为是心血管疾病发病率和死亡率的重要危险因素。有几个因素被认为对这种个体间差异有显著影响。虽然规律的体育锻炼似乎会导致静息迷走神经张力增加，但慢性生活压力以及诸如负面情绪和人格特质等社会心理因素似乎与迷走神经退缩有关。临床前研究一直在试图阐明此类关系，并深入了解迷走神经张力受损/增强背后的神经生物学机制。本文重点关注大鼠研究，这些研究探讨了压力、社会心理因素和体育锻炼对静息心率的迷走神经调节的影响。讨论了以下方面的结果：（i）静息迷走神经张力、心脏应激反应性和心律失常易感性的个体差异；（ii）静息迷走神经张力的神经生物学决定因素的阐明。
