ABSTRACT
Neuroscientists have emphasized visceral influences on consciousness and attention, but the potential neurophysiological pathways remain under exploration. Here, we found two neurophysiological pathways of heart-brain interaction based on the relationship between oxygen-transport by red blood cells (RBCs) and consciousness/attention. To this end, we collected a dataset based on the routine physical examination, the breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS) paradigm, and an attention network test (ANT) in 140 immigrants under the hypoxic Tibetan environment. We combined electroencephalography and multilevel mediation analysis to investigate the relationship between RBC properties and consciousness/attention. The results showed that RBC function, via two independent neurophysiological pathways, not only triggered interoceptive re-representations in the insula and awareness connected to orienting attention but also induced an immune response corresponding to consciousness and executive control. Importantly, consciousness played a fundamental role in executive function which might be associated with the level of perceived stress. These results indicated the important role of oxygen-transport in heart-brain interactions, in which the related stress response affected consciousness and executive control. The findings provide new insights into the neurophysiological schema of heart-brain interactions.
Subject(s)
Humans , Awareness , Brain , Consciousness , Oxygen , Visual PerceptionABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe whether electroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli (ST 36) reduces endotoxin-induced hepatic injury in rats and to explore the mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, a endotoxin group, an EA group, a normal group and a non-acupoint group. Hepatic injury rat model was prepared by injection of endotoxin (5 mg/kg) into the caudal vein, the normal group received the injection of the equal amount of saline; for the EA group, EA (2-100 Hz, 2 mA, 1.5 h) was given at "Zusanli" (ST 36) half an hour after modeling, and for the non-acupoint group, acupuncture was given at the point 5 mm lateral to and 5 mm below "Zusanli" (ST 36), and other treatments were as same as those in the EA group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Injection of endotoxin into the caudal vein could significantly increase TNF-alpha content in the liver and plasma ALT activity (P<0.01), which were decreased by EA (P<0.01) and were not significantly changed in the non-acupoint group (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The abnormal increases of TNF-alpha content in the liver and plasma ALT activity induced by endotoxin can be decreased by EA at "Zusanli" (ST 36), protecting the organ, and the mechanism is possibly related with the decrease of TNF-alpha content in the liver.</p>