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Neural Control of the Heart

  • Chapter
Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Heart

Part of the book series: Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine ((DICM,volume 34))

Abstract

The various structures in the heart are regulated by both divisions of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic division exerts facilitatory effects, whereas the parasympathetic has an inhibitory influence. The central nervous system controls the relative levels of sympathetic and vagal activity, usually in a reciprocal fashion; that is, as sympathetic activity is increased, parasympathetic activity is usually diminished, and vice versa. In certain regions of the heart, such as the nodal tissues, parasympathetic effects tend to predominate over sympathetic influences. In other regions, however, such as the ventricular myocardium, the effects of the sympathetic division are usually much greater than those of the parasympathetic division. When both divisions are active simultaneously, the sympathetic and vagal effects are usually not additive in a simple, algebraic fashion, but the sympathetic—parasympathetic interactions tend to be highly nonlinear.

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Authors
  1. Matthew N. Levy
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  2. Paul J. Martin
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, 231 Bethesda Avenue, 45267, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Nicholas Sperelakis

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© 1984 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Levy, M.N., Martin, P.J. (1984). Neural Control of the Heart. In: Sperelakis, N. (eds) Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Heart. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 34. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1171-4_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1171-4_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1173-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1171-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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