Abstract
Electrocardiograms were recorded in conscious pigs during psychological stress (touching), left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion, intracerebral levo-propranolol (0.05 mg/kg), and their respective controls. The R-R intervals were evaluated with both a deterministic measure (point correlation dimension) and a stochastic one (mean). Only the deterministic measure was sensitive to between-subject responses (P<.01), whereas both measures were sensitive to within-subject changes. The results are explained by a deterministic model of heartbeat generation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armour, J.A., Randall, W.C., & Sinha, S. (1975). Localized myocardial responses to stimulation of small cardiac branches of the vagus nerve.American Journal of Physiology, 228:141–148.
Carpeggiani, C., Landisman, C.E., Montaron, M.F., & Skinner, J.E. (1992). Cryoblockade in limbic brain (amygdala) delays or prevents ventricular fibrillation following coronary artery occlusion in psychologically stressed pigs.Circulation Research, 70:600–606.
Deanfield, J.E., Shea, M., Kensett, M., Horlock, P., Wilson, R.A., deLandsheere C.M., & Selwyn, A.P. (1984). Silent myocardial ischaemia due to mental stress.Lancet, 2:1001–1005.
Garvey, J.L. & Melvill, K.I. (1969). Cardiovascular effects of lateral hypothalamic stimulation in normal and coronary-ligated dogs.Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, 10:377–385.
Gray, C.M., Freeman, W.J., & Skinner, J.E. (1986). Chemical dependencies of learning in the rabbit olfactory bulb: Acquisition of the transient spatial-pattern change depends on norepinephrine.Behavioral Neuroscience, 100:585–596.
Hjalmarson, A. & Olsson, G. (1991). Myocardial infarction. Effects of beta-blockade.Circulation, 84(6 Suppl):VI101–7.
Huang, M., Armour, J.A. & Wolf, S. (1994).Integrative Physiological Behavioral Science, (in press).
Kleiger, R.E., Miller, J.P., Bigger, J.T. & Moss, A.J. (1987). The Multicenter Post-Infarction Research Group. Decreased heart rate variability and its association with increased mortality after acute myocardial infarction.American Journal of Cardiology, 59:256–262.
Krantz, D.S. & Manuck, S.B. (1984). Acute psychophysiologic reactivity and risk of cardiovascular disease: A review and methodologic critique.Psychological Bulletin, 96:435–464.
Malliani, A., Pagani, M., Lombardi, F. & Cerutti, S. (1991). Cardiovascular neural regulation explored in the frequency domain.Circulation, 84:482–492.
Muller, J.E., Stone, P.H., Turi, Z.G., Rutherford, J.D., Czeisler, C.A., Parker, C., Poole, W.K., Passamani, E., Roberts, R., Robinson, T., Sobel, B.E., Willerson, J.T., Braunwald, E. & MILIS Study Group. (1985). Circadian variation in the frequency of onset of acute myocardial infarction.New England Journal of Medicine, 313:1315–1322.
Myers, G.A., Martin, G.J., Magid, N.M., Barnett, P.S., Schaad, J.W., Weiss, J.S., Lesch, M. & Singer, D.H. (1986). Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in sudden cardiac death: Comparison to other methods.IEEE Transactions Biomedical Engineering, BME-33, 12:1149–53.
Oppenheimer, S.M. & Hachinski, V.C. (1992). The cardiac consequences of stroke.Neurologic Clinics, 10:167–76.
Parker, G.W., Michael, L.H., Hartley, C.J., Skinner, J.E. & Entman, M.L. (1990). Central beta-adrenergic mechanisms may modulate ischemic ventricular fibrillation in pigs.Circulation Research, 66:259–270.
Rozanski, A., Bairey, C.N., Krantz, D.S., Friedman, J., Resser, K.J., Morell, M., Hilton-Chalfen, S., Hestrin, L., Bietendorf, J., Berman, D.S. (1988). Mental stress and the induction of silent myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease.New England Journal of Medicine, 318:1005–1012.
Skinner, J.E., Lie, J.T. & Entman, M.L. (1975). Modification of ventricular fibrillation latency following coronary artery occlusion in the conscious pig: The effects of psychological stress and beta-adrenergic blockade.Circulation, 51:656–667.
Skinner, J.E.; Reed, J.C. (1981). Blockade of a frontocortical-brainstem pathway prevents ventricular fibrillation of the ischemic heart in pigs.American Journal of Physiology, 240:H156-H163.
Skinner, J.E. (1985). The regulation of cardiac vulnerability by the cerebral defense system.Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 5:88B-94B.
Skinner, J.E., Carpeggiani, C., Landisman, C.E., and Fulton, K.W. (1991). The correlation-dimension of heart beat intervals is reduced in conscious pigs by myocardial ischemia.Circulation Research, 68:966–976.
Skinner, J.E. (1993). Neurocardiology: Brain mechanisms underlying fatal cardiac arrhythmias.Neurologic Clinics, 11:325–351.
Skinner, J.E.; Pratt, C.M.; Vybiral, T. (1993). A reduction in the correlation dimension of heart beat intervals proceeds imminent ventricular fibrillation in human subjects.American Heart Journal, 125:731–743.
Skinner, J.E. (1994). Neurocardiology: How stress produces fatal cardiac arrhythmias. In: P.J. Podrid and P.R. Kowey (Eds.),Arrhythmia: A clinical approach. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins (in press).
Skinner, J.E., Molnar, M., and Tomberg, C. (1994). The point correlation dimension: Performance with nonstationary surrogate data and noise.Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 29:3, 217–234.
Szilagyi, J.E.; Taylor, A.A.; Skinner, J.E. (1987). Cryoblockade of ventromedial frontal cortex reverses hypertension in the rat.Hypertension, 9:576–581.
Tavazzi, L.; Zotti, A.M.; Rondanelli, R. (1986). The role of psychologic stress in the genesis of lethal arrhythmias in patients with coronary artery disease.European Heart Journal, 7:99–106.
Vybiral, T.; Skinner, J.E. (1993). The point correlation dimension of RR-interals predicts sudden cardiac death among high risk patients.Computers in Cardiology, 8:257–260.
Winfree, A.T. (1987).When time breaks down: The three-dimensional dynamics of electrochemical waves and cardiac arrhythmias. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Wolf, S. (1972). Sudden cardiac death. In S. Wolf (Ed.),The artery and the process of arteriosclerosis: Measurement and modification (pp. 213–275). New York: Plenum Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by the National Institute of Health Grant NS 27745.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Skinner, J.E. The role of the central nervous system in sudden cardiac death: Heartbeat dynamics in conscious pigs during coronary occlusion, psychologic stress and intracerebral propranolol. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science 29, 355–361 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691355
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691355