Abstract
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine responses of pial arteries of newborn pigs to stimulation of sympathetic nerves and to exogenous norepinephrine. In the cerebral circulation, pial arteries are important resistance vessels. Diameters of pial arteries in anesthetized piglets, aged 1-6 days, were determined using the “closed” cranial window method. Electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral superior cervical ganglion (16 Hz; 2.5 msec; 10 V) reduced pial arterial diameter from 219 ± 13 μm (mean ± SEM) to 190 ± 12 μm (n = 16) (p < 0.05) without affecting arterial blood pressure. Pial arterial constriction during nerve stimulation was sustained over the 5-min stimulation period. Following cessation of stimulation, diameters returned to control levels. Exogenous norepinephrine in artificial cerebrospinal fluid constricted pial arteries from 149 ± 19 to 133 ± 18 μm at 2 × 10-6 M (p < 0.05) and from 159 ± 20 to 123 ± 16 μm at 2 × 10-4 M (p < 0.05) (18 arteries from nine piglets). Pial arterial responses to nerve stimulation and exogenous norepinephrine were not dependent on initial size of the vessels. The results of this study establish the existence of functional sympathetic innervation in the cerebral circulation at birth in pigs.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Busija, D., Leffler, C. & Craig Wagerle, L. Responses of Newborn Pig Pial Arteries to Sympathetic Nervous Stimulation and Exogenous Norepinephrine. Pediatr Res 19, 1210–1214 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198511000-00020
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198511000-00020
This article is cited by
-
Autoregulation assessment by direct visualisation of pial arterial blood flow in the piglet brain
Scientific Reports (2019)
-
Exogenous Norepinephrine Constricts Cerebral Arterioles via α2-Adrenoceptors in Newborn Pigs
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (1987)