Cholinergic and adrenergic influences on the heart of the African lungfish Protopterus annectens

Authors: Sandblom, E.; Gräns, A.; Seth, H.; axelsson, M.

Source: Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 76, Number 4, March 2010 , pp. 1046-1054(9)

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Abstract:

Cardiac cholinergic and adrenergic tones were determined in minimally instrumented African lungfish Protopterus annectens. Mean ±S.E. routine heart rate (f_H) was 31·6 ± 1·4 beats min⁻¹, cholinergic tone was 34·6 ± 5·2% and adrenergic tone was 9·4 ± 2·3%, while the intrinsic f_H after blockade of both adrenergic and cholinergic control systems was 39·1 ± 1·3 beats min⁻¹. It is demonstrated that routine cholinergic tone has probably been underestimated in previous studies on lungfishes, suggesting that withdrawal of vagal tone may provide an important mechanism to increase f_H in this group of fishes during, for example, air breathing.

Keywords: adrenergic tone; air breathing; cholinergic tone; heart rate

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02547.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Zoology, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, S-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden

Publication date: 2010-03-01