Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
Volume 189, Issue 6, Pages 685-692Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00360-019-01237-5
Keywords
Heart rate; Interbeat interval; Blood pressure; Dive; Reflex
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Funding
- Williams College
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The diving response is a coordinated physiological response to submersion under water and has been documented amongst all mammals tested to date. The physiological response consists of three primary reflexes: an immediate bradycardia, apnea, and selective constriction of peripheral blood vessels. We hypothesized that mice would exhibit a diving response upon voluntary submersion into water typically seen in other mammals. In this study, telemeters that measure arterial pressure were implanted into male and female C57Bl/6J mice. These mice were trained to voluntarily dive underwater for a distance of 40 cm over a 4-6 s period. Just before the dive, the interbeat interval (IBI) was 87 +/- 6 ms (mean +/- SD) and diastolic pressure was 99 +/- 14 mmHg. Underwater submersion caused (1) a dramatic bradycardia immediately at the onset of each dive, as IBI increased to 458 +/- 104 ms, and (2) a large drop in diastolic pressure, to 56 +/- 16 mmHg despite the elevation in peripheral resistance. Mice experienced a short bout (similar to 2 s) of hypertension (diastolic pressure rose to 131 +/- 17 mmHg) upon emergence. The bradycardia and hypotension appeared to be vagally mediated, since both these responses were blocked with atropine pre-treatment. These data demonstrate that the mouse exhibits a robust diving response upon voluntary submersion into water.
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