Autonomic neuroscience : basic & clinical
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Cardiovascular dysfunction usually occurs after high thoracic and cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). The disruption of supraspinal vasomotor pathways (SVPs) results in the loss of bulbospinal regulation of sympathetic preganglionic neurons, leading to hypotension and compensatory tachycardia at rest. Episodic autonomic dysreflexia can develop upon sensory stimulation below the level of injury. ⋯ Based on these results, we examined cardiovascular responses after different lesions at spinal level T4, including lateral or dorsal hemisection, dorsolateral or complete transection. Hemodynamic dysfunction and autonomic dysreflexia were only elicited in rats with complete T4 transections when all SVPs were disrupted. Hence, F344 rats with complete T4 transections provide a reliable model for investigating means to improve cardiovascular functional recovery after SCI.