Blood pressure pulsations modulate central neuronal activity via mechanosensitive ion channels

The transmission of heartbeat through the cerebral vascular system is known to cause intracranial pressure pulsations. Here we report that arterial pressure pulsations can directly modulate central neuronal activity. In a semi-intact rat brain preparation, vascular pressure pulsations elicit correlated local field oscillations in the olfactory bulb (OB) mitral cell layer. These oscillations do not require synaptic transmission, but reflect baroreceptive transduction in mitral cells. This transduction is mediated by an excitatory mechanosensitive ion channel and modulates neuronal spiking activity. Indeed, in awake animals, the heartbeat entrains the activity of a subset of OB neurons within ~20 ms. Thus, we propose that this fast intrinsic interoceptive mechanism can modulate perception, e.g. during arousal, within the OB and also possibly across various brain areas.

Methods
See Methods section of associated manuscript.