Optimal frequency ranges for extracting information on cardiovascular autonomic control from the blood pressure and pulse interval spectrograms in mice

The analysis of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) variability by spectral methods has proven a useful tool in many animal species for the assessment of the vagal and sympathetic contributions to oscillations of BP and HR. Continuous BP measurements obtained in mice by telemetry were used to characterize the spectral bandwidths of autonomic relevance by using an approach with no a priori. The paradigm was based on the autonomic blockades obtained with conventional drugs (atropine, prazosin, atenolol). The spectral changes were estimated in all of the combinations of spectral bandwidths. The effect of hydralazine was also tested using the same systematic analysis, to detect the zones of sympathetic activation resulting reflexly from the vasodilatory action of the drug. Two zones of interest in the study of the autonomic control of BP and HR were observed. The first zone covered the 0.15-0.60 Hz range of the systolic BP spectrum and corresponds to the low-frequency zone (or Mayer waves). This zone reflects sympathetic control since the power spectral density of this zone was significantly reduced with alpha1-adrenoceptor blockade (prazosin), while it was significantly amplified as a result of a reflex sympathetic activation (hydralazine). The second zone covered the 2.5-5.0 Hz range of the pulse interval spectrum and corresponded to the high-frequency zone (respiratory sinus arrhythmia) under vagal control (blocked by atropine). These zones are recommended for testing the autonomic control of circulation in mice.