Biomedical subjects

J VanHartevelt

Publications and source records attributed to J VanHartevelt.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Dynamic response of the peripheral chemoreflex loop to changes in end-tidal O2.

We studied the peripheral ventilatory response dynamics to changes in end-tidal O2 tension (PETO2) in 13 cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose-urethan. The arterial O2 tension in the medulla oblongata was kept constant using the technique of artificial perfusion of the brain stem. At constant end-tidal CO2 tension, 72 ventilatory on-responses due to stepwise changes in PETO2 from hyperoxia (45-55 kPa) to hypoxia (4.7-9.0 kPa) and 62 ventilatory off-responses due to changes from hypoxia to hyperoxia were assessed. We fitted two exponential functions with the same time delay to the breath-by-breath ventilation and found a fast and a slow component in 85% of the ventilatory on-responses and in 76% of the off-responses. The time constant of the fast component of the ventilatory on-response was 1.6 +/- 1.5 (SD) s, and that of the off-response was 2.4 +/- 1.3 s; the gain of the on-response was smaller than that of the off-response (P = 0.020). For the slow component, the time constant of the on-response (72.6 +/- 36.4 s) was larger (P = 0.028) than that of the off-response (43.7 +/- 28.3 s), whereas the gain of the on-response exceeded that of the off-response (P = 0.031). We conclude that the ventilatory response of the peripheral chemoreflex loop to stepwise changes in PETO2 contains a fast and a slow component.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Dynamics of ventilatory response to step changes in PCO2 of blood perfusing the brain stem.

The technique of artificial brain stem perfusion was used to assess the ventilatory response to step changes in PCO2 of the blood perfusing the brain stem of the cat. A two-channel roller pump and a four-way valve allow switching the gas exchanger into and out of the extracorporeal circuit, which controlled the perfusion to the brain stem. Seven alpha-chloralose-urethan-anesthetized cats were studied, and 25 steps of increasing and 23 steps of decreasing PCO2 were analyzed. A model consisting of a single-exponential function with time delay best described the ventilatory response. The time delays 11.7 +/- 8.1 and 6.4 +/- 6.8 (SD) s (obtained from mean values per cat) for the step into and out of hypercapnia, respectively, were not significantly different (P = 0.10) and were of the order of the transit time of the tubing from valve to brain stem. The steady-state CO2 sensitivities obtained from the on- and off-responses were also not significantly different (P = 0.10). The time constants 87 +/- 25 and 150 +/- 51 s, respectively, were significantly different (P = 0.0002). We conclude that the central chemoreflex is adequately modeled by a single component with a different time constant for on- and off-responses.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Dynamic response of peripheral chemoreflex loop to changes in end-tidal CO2.

The dynamic ventilatory response of the peripheral chemoreflex loop after isoxic step changes in end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2) (range 5-30 Torr) was studied in 12 alpha-chloralose-urethan-anesthetized cats. The technique of artificial brain stem perfusion allowed the response to be observed in isolation from the central chemoreflex loop. The data were fitted by an exponential with time delay. During normoxia the mean time constant and time delay (with SD) were 8.6 +/- 7.3 and 3.3 +/- 0.9 s, respectively (9 cats, 56 runs). During hypoxia [arterial PO2 (PaO2) approximately 60 Torr] these values were 6.0 +/- 4.5 and 2.9 +/- 0.9 s (6 cats, 38 runs). In 17 of the 94 runs an augmented breath occurred in the first three breaths after the stepwise increase in PETCO2. For these augmented breaths, tidal volume, inspiratory time, and expiratory time were not different from the next augmented breath occurring in the same run in the steady state. Neither a rate-sensitive component nor a central neural mechanism (central afterdischarge), with the property of maintaining an increased but slowly declining respiratory activity for some minutes after cessation of the PETCO2 challenge, was found. We conclude that the description of the ventilatory response of the peripheral chemoreflex loop to step changes in PETCO2 with a single exponential and time delay is adequate.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Phase resetting properties of cardiac pacemaker cells.

Aggregates of heart cells from chicken embryos beat spontaneously. We used intracellular microelectrodes to record the periodic behavior of the membrane potential that triggers the contractions. Every 5-12 beats, a short current pulse was applied at various points in the cycle to study the phase-dependent resetting of the rhythm. Pulses stronger than 2.5 nA caused the final rhythm to be reset to almost the same point in the cycle regardless of the phase at which the pulse was applied (type zero resetting). Pulses of less than or equal to 1 nA only caused a slight change of the phase. Increasing current intensities to between 1 and 2.5 nA gave rise to an increasing steepness in a small part of the phase-response curve. The observation of type zero resetting implies the existence of a critical stimulation that might annihilate the rhythm. Although we did find a phase at which more or less random responses occurred, the longest pause in the rhythm was 758 ms, 2.4 times the spontaneous interval. This suggests that the resting membrane potential was unstable, at least against the internal noise of the system. The conclusions are discussed in terms of the concepts of classical cardiac electrophysiology.

Action Potentials↗