DIAGNOSIS OF THE FUNCTIONAL STATE OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND PROGNOSIS OF MALADAPTATION DEVELOPMENT

It was demonstrated that medical students with vagotonia and sympathicotonia had a mild strain of their regulation mechanisms. The considerable signs of autonomic regulation inefficiency were found out in conditions of physical exercising. The adaptation of individuals with vagotonia to the physical loading was going mainly due to the excessive elevation of heart rate along with the increase in diastolic blood pressure. In contrast, abnormal elevation of pulse pressure after physical loading was observed in young people with sympathicotonia, which is concerned as a negative prognosis and also a predictor of arterial hypertension. Some physiological aspects of the recovery period confirmed the insufficiency of autonomic regulation as well as discoordination of the reciprocal departments of autonomic nervous system in examined persons. The unfavorable range of increase in hemodynamic parameters after physical loading was to pioneer. The following ranges of cardiovascular indexes indicated the mild level of maladaptation: in individuals with vagotonia – Mean Arterial Pressure by 6-30%, heart rate by 80-120%, endurance coefficient – 5-27%, and Robinson’s index – 121–200%; in persons with sympathicotonia – endurance coefficient – 5-27%, and Pulse Pressure – 75-105%. These changes have to be corrected in advance for the prophylactics of specific and nonspecific complications of visceral systems functioning. The economical effectiveness of this research is accomplished by the reduction of financial expenses because of prophylactics and/or diagnosis of autonomic deregulation development

Body, Mind, and Spirit in Early Chinese Medicine

Medical texts especially of the Huangdi neijing 黃帝內經 tradition provide an important counterpoint to philosophical debates about the relation of body and mind in early China and in particular to the understanding of the “mind” (xin 心), since medical texts must address the role of the xin-heart as one of the visceral systems. This paper surveys accounts of both “mind” and “spirit” (shen 神) in the Huangdi neijing and proposes a view of a person in which cognitive and affective faculties are decentralized and corporeal, rather than being centered in the mind.

Is the Cerebellum Involved in the Nervous Control of the Immune System Function?

Background: According to the views of psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology, many interactions exist between nervous, endocrine and immune system the purpose of which is to achieve adaptive measures restoring an internal equilibrium (homeostasis) following stress conditions. The center where these interactions converge is the hypothalamus. This is a center of the autonomic nervous system that controls the visceral systems, including the immune system, through both the nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms. The nervous mechanisms are based on nervous circuits that bidirectionally connect hypothalamic neurons and neurons of the sympathetic and parasympathetic system; the neuroendocrine mechanisms are based on the release by neurosecretory hypothalamic neurons of hormones that target the endocrine cells and on the feedback effects of the hormones secreted by these endocrine cells on the same hypothalamic neurons. Moreover, the hypothalamus is an important subcortical center of the limbic system that controls through nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms the areas of the cerebral cortex where the psychic functions controlling mood, emotions, anxiety and instinctive behaviors take place. Accordingly, various studies conducted in the last decades have indicated that hypothalamic diseases may be associated with immune and/or psychic disorders. Objective: Various researches have reported that the hypothalamus is controlled by the cerebellum through a feedback nervous circuit, namely the hypothalamocerebellar circuit, which bi-directionally connects regions of the hypothalamus, including the immunoregulatory ones, and related regions of the cerebellum. An objective of the present review was to analyze the anatomical bases of the nervous and neuroendocrine mechanisms for the control of the immune system and, in particular, of the interaction between hypothalamus and cerebellum to achieve the immunoregulatory function. Conclusion: Since the hypothalamus represents the link through which the immune functions may influence the psychic functions and vice versa, the cerebellum, controlling several regions of the hypothalamus, could be considered as a primary player in the regulation of the multiple functional interactions postulated by psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology.

Multifunctional TRPV1 Ion Channels in Physiology and Pathology with Focus on the Brain, Vasculature, and Some Visceral Systems

TRPV1 has been originally cloned as the heat and capsaicin receptor implicated in acute pain signalling, while further research has shifted the focus to its importance in chronic pain caused by inflammation and associated with this TRPV1 sensitization. However, accumulating evidence suggests that, apart from pain signalling, TRPV1 subserves many other unrelated to nociception functions in the nervous system. In the brain, TRPV1 can modulate synaptic transmission via both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms and there is a functional crosstalk between GABA receptors and TRPV1. Other fundamental processes include TRPV1 role in plasticity, microglia-to-neuron communication, and brain development. Moreover, TRPV1 is widely expressed in the peripheral tissues, including the vasculature, gastrointestinal tract, urinary bladder, epithelial cells, and the cells of the immune system. TRPV1 can be activated by a large array of physical (heat, mechanical stimuli) and chemical factors (e.g., protons, capsaicin, resiniferatoxin, and endogenous ligands, such as endovanilloids). This causes two general cell effects, membrane depolarization and calcium influx, thus triggering depending on the cell-type diverse functional responses ranging from neuronal excitation to secretion and smooth muscle contraction. Here, we review recent research on the diverse TRPV1 functions with focus on the brain, vasculature, and some visceral systems as the basis of our better understanding of TRPV1 role in different human disorders.

Influence of Yoga on the Autonomic Nervous System

Increased interest in exploring the physiological benefits of yoga in last few decades resulted in plethora of scientific studies involving different physiological measures in healthy volunteers and patients with various disorders. Of these measures, autonomic functions assessment remained prime role because of wider regulation of autonomic nervous system functions over all visceral systems of the body. Through its two limbs (sympathetic and parasympathetic) autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary visceral organs and systems of the body, which is critical in maintaining the homeostasis of all the physiological functions. This homeostasis is altered in various disease conditions most of which resulted because of the increased stress, a product of modern day lifestyle. Yoga is perfect antidote for the stress, effectively tackling the dreaded effects of stress on physiological systems mainly acting through modulating sympathovagal balance to maintain the homeostasis and restoring the health. We will discuss how yoga achieves this balance in various disorders by reviewing the autonomic system, its functions, laboratory assessments and plenty of scientific studies conducted over last few decades in various disorders involving yoga and autonomic functions. Although we have general idea as to how yoga modulates the sympathovagal balance improving clinical condition, we need to have more long-term, in-depth, well-controlled studies not only to understand these complex interactions of yoga and autonomic functions but also to provide scientific credibility to yoga research in world's scientific community. These steps would hopefully enable mankind to lead the disease-free healthy life style effectively to achieve meaningfully the purpose of one's life.

Neurobiological Mechanisms of Pelvic Pain

Pelvic pain is a common condition which significantly deteriorates health-related quality of life. The most commonly identified causes of pain in the pelvic region are gynaecologic, urologic, gastrointestinal, neurological, and musculoskeletal. However, in up to 33% of patients the source of this symptom is not identified, frustrating both patients and health-care professionals. Pelvic pain may involve both the somatic and visceral systems, making the differential diagnosing challenging. This paper aimed to review the mechanisms involved in pelvic pain perception by analyzing the neural plasticity and molecules which are involved in these complex circuits.

BAROREFLEX AND ADAPTATION OF VISCERAL SYSTEMS IN RENOVASCULAR HYPERTENSION

Objective. To test the hypothesis, that the arterial baroreceptor refl ex plays the key role for the phenomenon of visceral systems adaptation for long-term afferent drive. Design and methods. In Wistar rats the model of the «two kidneys, one clip» vasorenal hypertension was carried out. The sino-aortic denervation was performed in one group — before the left renal artery clipping, in the other group — 8 weeks after the left renal artery clipping. Results. The renal artery clipping led to the increase of blood pressure only in 17 % of animals with intact sino-carotid-aortic mechanoreceptor zones. The absence of hypertension in these animals might be due to the cardiovascular adaptation phenomenon to prolonged afferent action from ischemic kidney. Denervation of mechanoreceptor zones before the clipping of the renal artery contributes to the development of hypertension in 100 %. However, the denervation of sino-carotid and aortic zones performed 8 weeks after the renal artery clipping in rats without hypertension, does not affect blood pressure level.Conclusion. We suggest, that the absence of hypertension after renal artery clipping is due to the adaptation of the circulatory system to a long-term afferentation from the kidney, and the denervation of large vessels mechanoreceptor zones does not alter this process. At the same time, the damage of the arterial baroreceptor refl ex before renal artery clipping interferes in the visceral systems adaptation to afferent action and contributes to the arterial hypertension development.