Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022 Apr 8. doi: 10.1007/s00213-022-06114-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: Pre-ejection period (PEP) and T-wave amplitude (TWA) have been used to assess sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. Here we report two single-blinded, placebo-controlled intravenous (IV) drug application studies in which we pharmacologically modified SNS activity with epinephrine (study 1) as well as dexmedetomidine (alpha2-agonist) and yohimbine (alpha2-antagonist) (study 2). Restricted heart rate (HR) intervals were analyzed to avoid confounding effects of HR changes.
OBJECTIVE: Study 1 served to replicate previous findings and to validate our approach, whereas study 2 aimed to investigate how modulation of central SNS activity affects PEP and TWA.
METHODS: Forty healthy volunteers (58% females) participated in study 1 (between-subject design). Twelve healthy men participated in study 2 (within-subject design). TWA and PEP were derived from ECG and impedance cardiography, respectively.
RESULTS: Epinephrine shortened PEP and induced statistically significant biphasic TWA changes. However, although the two alpha2-drugs significantly affected PEP as expected, no effects on TWA could be detected.
CONCLUSION: PEP is better suited to reflect SNS activity changes than TWA.
PMID:35394159 | DOI:10.1007/s00213-022-06114-8
