NIH R01 · 2025
Molecular and Functional Taxonomy of Cardiovagal Neurons
PROJECT SUMMARY Heart rate is one of the most widely used and informative metrics of health. Yet, the neural circuits which determine heart rate are only partly known. Over a century of research has shown that heart rate is oppositely controlled by the two branches of the autonomic nervous system, which increase (sympathetic) or decrease (parasympathetic) heart rate in response to the body’s changing needs for circulation. Parasympathetic input to the heart occurs through the vagus nerve, a cranial nerve which carries axons from hindbrain parasympathetic neurons, known as cardiovagal neurons, to downstream neurons in the cardiac ganglia. The vast majority of cardiovagal neurons reside in…
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