A wavelet-based approach for monitoring baroreceptors function test in rats

The arterial baroreceptor reflex is an important determinant of autonomic control of cardiovascular system for homeostasis. The present work proposes a wavelet analysis for monitoring baroreflex behavior using wavelets analysis of short time rats R-R and systolic arterial pressure signals (SAP). The instantaneous power of decomposed low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency components was used for a time-variant spectral analysis. Our results show that fast events and changes in autonomic modulation were detected with high temporal resolution. The methods applied yielded the same values of baroreceptor sensitivity as the baroreflex gain by phenylphrine testing. The results indicate that wavelet analysis can be used as a non-invasive method for dynamic assessment of baroreflex response and may be a useful tool in exploring fast autonomic control of the cardiovascular system.