A working heart-brainstem preparation of the rat for the study of reflex mediated autonomic influences on atrial arrhythmia development

Vagal nerve activity has been shown to play a role in the formation and maintenance of atrial fibrillation (AF). Nerves on the atria are now increasingly being targeted using ablation-based therapies for the treatment of paroxysmal AF. In vivo, changes in vagal activity are part of an integrated autonomic profile that invariably involves accompanying modulations in sympathetic activity. To date, it has not been possible to replicate endogenous profiles of autonomic activity with the experimental set-ups used to study the effects of vagal stimulation on AF development. In this paper, we describe an experimental set-up using an in situ preparation that addresses these challenges for the first time. A high resolution surface electrode array has been used to make recordings of atrial electrograms during baroreflex activation from a preparation with intact innervation from brainstem to heart. This provides a novel framework for relating reflex-mediated autonomic activity to altered regional impulse propagation and electrical rhythm in the atria.