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Responses to stimulation of atrial receptors

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LedsomeJR_1989redux.pdf (46.96Mb)
Date
1989
Author
Ledsome, John Russell
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Abstract
 
 
Complex sensory nerve endings, functioning as stretch receptors exist within the vessel walls of both the high and low pressure vascular systems. The reflex effects of stimulation of receptors in the high pressure system (arterial baroreceptors) are known in some detail; less is known regarding the function of receptors in the low pressure system. The work reported here is concerned with the reflex responses to stimulation of unencapsulated nerve endings found within the endocardium of the left atrium and having myelinated afferent fibres in the vagus nerves (left atrial receptors).
 
Evidence is presented that stimulation of left atrial receptors leads to complex and highly specific reflex responses. Stimulation of left atrial receptors causes a reflex increase in heart rate which is mediated mainly through the cardiac sympathetic nerves. There is also a reflex decrease in renal vascular resistance, although the resistance in other vascular beds remains unaltered. Stimulation of atrial receptors did not cause any change in respiratory rate or tidal volume. Stimulation of atrial receptors is associated with a diuresis and under some circumstances a natriuresis. At least a part of the diuresis appeared to be dependant on a decrease in the concentration of vasopressin in the plasma. More recently it became possible to measure the plasma concentration of vasopressin by radioimmunoassay and it was shown that stimulation of atrial receptors caused a reflex decrease in plasma vasopressin concentration. The recent demonstration that the atrial myocytes produce a natriuretic peptide (atrial natriuretic factor), which is released during atrial distension, adds another dimension to the control of blood volume. The release of this peptide was not influenced by atrial receptor stimulation.
 
The atrial receptors appear to provide one mechanism by which either total blood volume, or the filling of the heart may be detected. The reflex increase in heart rate induced by atrial receptor stimulation may act along with the "Starling Mechanism" to maintain heart volume constant. Continued stimulation of atrial receptors, acting through the renal nerves and a reduction in plasma vasopressin, will promote the excretion of water and salt and tend to reduce blood volume.
 
LIST OF CONTENTS: 1. Ledsome, J.R., Linden, R.J. & O'Connor, W.J. (1961). The mechanisms by which distension of the left atrium produce diuresis in anaesthetized dogs. J. Physiol. 159, 87-100. 2. Ledsome, J.R. & Linden, R.J. (1964). A reflex increase in heart rate from distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junctions. J. Physiol. 170, 456-473. 3. Ledsome, J.R. & Linden, R.J. (1967). The effects of distending a pouch of the left atrium on the heart rate. J. Physiol. 193, 121-129. 4. Ledsome, J.R. & Linden, R.J. (1968). The role of the left atrial receptors in the diuretic response to left atrial distension. J. Physiol. 198, 487-503. 5. Carswell, F., Hainsworth, R. & Ledsome, J.R. (1970). The effects of distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junctions upon peripheral vascular resistance. J. Physiol. 207, 1-14. 6. Ledsome, J.R. & Hainsworth, R. (1970). The effects upon respiration of distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junctions. Respiration Physiol. 9, 86-94. 7. Carswell, F., Hainsworth, R. & Ledsome, J.R. (1970). The effects of left atrial distension upon urine flow from the isolated perfused kidney. Quart. J. exp. Physiol. 55, 173-182. 8. Mason, J.M. & Ledsome, J.R. (1971). The effects of changes in the rate of infusion of vasopressin in anaesthetized dogs. Can. J. Physiol. 49, 933-940. 9. Ledsome, J.R. & Mason, J.M. (1972). The effect of vasopressin on the diuretic response to left atrial distension. J. Physiol. 221, 427-440. 10. Albrook, S.M., Bennion, G. & Ledsome, J.R. (1972). The effects of decerebration on the reflex response to pulmonary vein distension. J. Physiol. 226, 793-803. 11. Lawrence, M., Ledsome, J.R. & Mason, J.M. (1973). The time course of the diuretic response to left atrial distension. Quart. J. exp. Physiol. 58, 219-227. 12. Burkhart, S.M. & Ledsome, J.R. (1974). The response to distension of the pulmonary vein-left atrial junctions in dogs with spinal section. J. Physiol. 237, 685-700. 13. Mason, J.M. & Ledsome, J.R. (1974). Effects of obstruction of the mitral orifice or distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junctions on renal and hind limb vascular resistance in the dog. Circulation Research 35, 24-32. 14. Burkhart, S.M. & Ledsome, J.R. (1977). The response to distension of the pulmonary vein-left atrial junctions in anaesthetized dogs after section of the rostral medulla. J. Physiol. 273, 57-67. 15. Burkhart, S.M., Funnell, L. & Ledsome, J.R. (1977). The effects of medullary lesions on the reflex responses to carotid occlusion, aortic nerve stimulation, and distension of the pulmonary vein-left atrial junctions in the anaesthetized dog. J. Physiol. 273, 69-81. 16. Kidd, C., Ledsome, J.R. & Linden, R.J. (1978). The effect of distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junction on activity of left atrial receptors. J. Physiol. (1978). 285, 445-453. 17. Ledsome, J.R., Wilson, N. and Ngsee, J. (1982). Time course of changes in plasma vasopressin during atrial distension. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 60, 1210-1218. 18. Ledsome, J.R., Ngsee, J. and Wilson, N. (1983). Plasma vasopressin concentration in the anaesthetized dog before, during and after atrial distension. J. Physiol. 338, 413-422. 19. Wilson, N. and Ledsome, J.R. (1983). Distension of the pulmonary vein-atrial junctions and plasma vasopressin in the chloralose anaesthetized dog. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 60, 905-910. 20. Ledsome, J.R. and Wilson, N. (1984). The relationship between plasma vasopressin concentration and urinary excretion during left atrial distension in anaesthetized dogs. Pflugers Arch. 400, 381-387. 21. Ledsome, J.R., Wilson, N. and Courneya, C.A. (1985). Plasma vasopressin during increases and decreases in blood volume in anaesthetized dogs. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 63, 224-229. 22. Ledsome, J.R. (1985). Atrial receptors, blood volume and vasopressin. Life Sciences 36, 1315-1330. 23. Ledsome, J.R., Wilson, N., Courneya, C.A. and Rankin, A.J. (1985). Release of atrial natriuretic peptide by atrial distension. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 63, 739-742. 24. Ledsome, J.R., Wilson, N., Rankin, A.J. and Courneya, C.A. (1985). Time course of release of atrial natriuretic peptide in the anaesthetized dog. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 64, 1017-1022.
 
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http://hdl.handle.net/1842/34953
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