Correlation between sonographic morphology and function of the cervical vagus nerves
The heart receives parasympathetic and to a lesser degree sympathetic input via the vagus nerve. Here, we investigated whether morphological changes of the cervical vagus nerves (VN) as assessed by high-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) correlated with the autonomic cardiac innervation. Measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) and HRUS of the VNs were performed in 88 healthy subjects (50 female; mean age 56 ± 18 years). HRV parameters and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the VNs correlated both inversely with age.
Source: Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Johann Otto Pelz, Elena Belau, Ina Menze, Timo Bj örn Woost, Joseph Classen, David Weise Source Type: research
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