The insular cortex modulates cardiovascular responses to acute restraint stress in rats

• Published in: Brain research 2010-05, Vol.1333, p.57-63
• Main Authors: Alves, Fernando H.F, Crestani, Carlos C, Corrêa, Fernando M.A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; arterial pressure and heart rate; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Blood Pressure - physiology; cardiovascular system; Cardiovascular System - physiopathology; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cobalt - pharmacology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heart Rate - drug effects; Heart Rate - physiology; Male; Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration; Neurology; Prefrontal cortex; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Restraint, Physical - methods; stress; Stress, Psychological - pathology; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0006-8993; 1872-6240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.03.077

Abstract Acute restraint is an unavoidable stress situation that evokes marked and sustained cardiovascular changes, which are characterized by blood pressure and heart rate increases. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that insular cortex mediates cardiovascular responses to acute restraint stress in rats. To that purpose, the insular cortex synaptic transmission was inhibited by bilateral microinjection of the nonselective synaptic blocker cobalt chloride (CoCl2 , 1 mM/100 nL). Insular cortex pretreatment with CoCl2 decreased restraint-evoked pressor and tachycardiac responses, thus indicating an involvement of synapses within the insular cortex on the modulation of cardiovascular responses to restraint stress. The present results indicate that insular cortex synapses exert a facilitatory influence on blood pressure and HR increase evoked by acute restraint stress in rats.