Blood Pressure Regulation in Humans: Calculation of an “Error Signal” in Control of Sympathetic Nerve Activity
Open accessAbstract
Within an individual, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is negatively related to sympathetic burst incidence, such that lower pressure is associated with high burst incidence. Our goal was to explore the use of a calculation of a DBP “error signal” in the control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity in men and women. Baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity was measured in healthy young men (n=22) and women (n=28). Women had significantly lower muscle sympathetic nerve activity than men (29±3 versus 43±2 bursts per 100 heartbeats; P <0.05). For each individual, the DBP at which there is a 50% likelihood of a muscle sympathetic nerve activity burst, the “T50” value, was calculated. Mean DBP was subtracted from the T50 blood pressure as an approximate error signal for burst activation. Error signal was negative in both sexes, indicating that DBP in both sexes was higher than the DBP value associated with a 50% burst likelihood. However, average error signal was significantly larger in women (−4±2 mm Hg) than in men (−1±0 mm Hg; P <0.05 versus women). We conclude that women operate at a mean DBP greater than their T50 compared with men, and this may be a contributing factor to low basal muscle sympathetic nerve activity in women. The relationship between error signal and burst incidence may provide important insight into the control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity across sexes and in various populations.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
An acute increase in diastolic or mean arterial blood pressure of 3-5 mmHg is usually experimentally sufficient to abolish muscle sympathetic nerve activity in healthy young subjects.
“In this context, an acute increase in diastolic or mean arterial blood pressure of 3–5 mmHg is usually experimentally sufficient to abolish MSNA in healthy young subjects.50, 51”
From Oral contraceptive use, muscle sympathetic nerve activity, and systemic hemodynamics in young women (2015) · cites this paper as [50]
The Methods (Data Analysis; page unavailable) report that higher diastolic pressure is associated with a lower likelihood of MSNA bursts in healthy young subjects. The Discussion (Relevance of calculations; page unavailable) limits the findings to resting conditions, not an acute experimental pressure increase. It does not establish that a 3–5 mmHg rise in diastolic or mean arterial pressure usually abolishes MSNA. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Human muscle nerve sympathetic activity at rest. Relationship to blood pressure and age
Sundlöf, G., & Wallin, B. G. (1978) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1978.sp012170 · Cited by 601 · see citing works
Self-citationMinson, C. T., Halliwill, J. R., Young, T. M., & Joyner, M. J. (2000) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.101.8.862 · Cited by 515 · see citing works
Self-citationAge and gender influence muscle sympathetic nerve activity at rest in healthy humans.
Ng, A. V., Callister, R. J., Johnson, D. G., & Seals, D. R. (1993) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/01.hyp.21.4.498 · Cited by 444 · see citing works
The variability of muscle nerve sympathetic activity in resting recumbent man
Sundlöf, G., & Wallin, B. G. (1977) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1977.sp012050 · Cited by 442 · see citing works
Self-citationGender-Selective Interaction Between Aging, Blood Pressure, and Sympathetic Nerve Activity
Narkiewicz, K., Phillips, B. G., Kato, M., Hering, D., Bieniaszewski, L., & Somers, V. K. (2005) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/01.hyp.0000160318.46725.46 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Hart, E. C., Charkoudian, N., Wallin, B. G., Curry, T. B., Eisenach, J. H., & Joyner, M. J. (2009) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.108.126391 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
Self-citationTwo sites for modulation of human sympathetic activity by arterial baroreceptors?
Kienbaum, P., Karlsson, T., Sverrisdóttir, Y. B., Elam, M., & Wallin, B. G. (2001) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7793.2001.0861h.x · Cited by 282 · see citing works
Self-citationCharkoudian, N., Joyner, M. J., Johnson, C. P., Eisenach, J. H., Dietz, N. M., & Wallin, B. G. (2005) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2005.090076 · Cited by 254 · see citing works
Self-citationChristou, D. D., Jones, P. P., Jordan, J., Diedrich, A., Robertson, D., & Seals, D. R. (2005) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000153864.24034.a6 · Cited by 200 · see citing works
Charkoudian, N., Joyner, M. J., Sokolnicki, L. A., Johnson, C. P., Eisenach, J. H., Dietz, N. M., Curry, T. B., & Wallin, B. G. (2006) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2005.104075 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Self-citationOsborn, J. W., Jacob, F., & Guzman, P. A. (2005) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00474.2004 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Baroreflex Regulation of Heart Rate and Sympathetic Vasomotor Tone in Women and Men
Tank, J., Diedrich, A., Szczech, E., Luft, F. C., & Jordan, J. (2005) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/01.hyp.0000165695.98915.9a · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Osborn, J. W. (2005) · Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1681.2005.04200.x · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Human Muscle Nerve Sympathetic Activity in Cardiac Arrhythmias
Wallin, B. G., Delius, W., & Sundlöf, G. (1974) · Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation · doi:10.3109/00365517409049883 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Self-citationROLE OF OESTROGEN IN THE CENTRAL REGULATION OF AUTONOMIC FUNCTION
Saleh, T., & Bj, C. (2007) · Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1681.2007.04663.x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [11]Finney D Probit Analysis Cambridge University Press 1971
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Clinical neurocardiology defining the value of neuroscience-based cardiovascular therapeutics
Shivkumar, K., Ajijola, O. A., Anand, I., Armour, J. A., Chen, P., Esler, M., De Ferrari, G. M., Fishbein, M. C., Goldberger, J. J., Harper, R. M., et al. (2016) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jp271870 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Self-citationRegulation of blood pressure by the arterial baroreflex and autonomic nervous system
Wehrwein, E. A., & Joyner, M. J. (2013) · Handbook of clinical neurology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53491-0.00008-0 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Self-citationNeurovascular control of blood pressure is influenced by aging, sex, and sex hormones
Baker, S. E., Limberg, J. K., Ranadive, S. M., & Joyner, M. J. (2016) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00288.2016 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Self-citationSympathetic regulation of blood pressure in normotension and hypertension: when sex matters
Briant, L. J. B., Charkoudian, N., & Hart, E. C. (2015) · Experimental Physiology · doi:10.1113/ep085368 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationOral contraceptive use, muscle sympathetic nerve activity, and systemic hemodynamics in young women
Harvey, R. E., Hart, E. C., Charkoudian, N., Curry, T. B., Carter, J. R., Fu, Q., Minson, C. T., Joyner, M. J., & Barnes, J. N. (2015) · HYPERTENSION · doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.115.05179 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Self-citationHysteresis in the sympathetic baroreflex: role of baseline nerve activity
Hart, E. C., Wallin, B. G., Curry, T. B., Joyner, M. J., Karlsson, T., & Charkoudian, N. (2011) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2011.208538 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationSex‐specific factors regulating pressure and flow
Barnes, J. N. (2017) · Experimental Physiology · doi:10.1113/ep086531 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Querido, J. S., Wehrwein, E. A., Hart, E. C., Charkoudian, N., Henderson, W. R., & Sheel, A. W. (2011) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00182.2011 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationSympathetic Neural Mechanisms in Human Blood Pressure Regulation
Hart, E. C., & Charkoudian, N. (2011) · Current Hypertension Reports · doi:10.1007/s11906-011-0191-1 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationHolwerda, S. W., Carter, J. R., Yang, H., Wang, J., Pierce, G. L., & Fadel, P. J. (2020) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00704.2020 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Arterial baroreflex regulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity at rest and during stress
Incognito, A. V., Duplea, S., Lee, J. B., Sussman, J., Shepherd, A. D., Doherty, C. J., Cacoilo, J. A., Notay, K., & Millar, P. J. (2019) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jp278376 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Altered Blood Vessel Responses in the Eye and Finger in Coronary Artery Disease
Heitmar, R., Cubbidge, R. P., Lip, G. Y. H., Gherghel, D., & Blann, A. D. (2011) · Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science · doi:10.1167/iovs.10-6628 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Limberg, J. K., Ott, E. P., Holbein, W. W., Baker, S. E., Curry, T. B., Nicholson, W. T., Joyner, M. J., & Shoemaker, J. K. (2018) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00935.2017 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationSystemic Arterial Pressure at Maturity in Rats Following Chronic Hypoxia in Early Life
Ross, B., McIntosh, M., Rodaros, D., Hébert, T. E., & Rohlicek, C. V. (2010) · American Journal of Hypertension · doi:10.1038/ajh.2010.160 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Nardone, M., Katerberg, C., Incognito, A. V., Teixeira, A. L. D. S., Vianna, L. C., & Millar, P. J. (2021) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00422.2021 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Incognito, A. V., Samora, M., Shepherd, A. D., Cartafina, R. A., Guimarães, G. M. N., Daher, M., Millar, P. J., & Vianna, L. C. (2020) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00700.2019 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Wareing, L., Readman, M. R., Longo, M. R., Linkenauger, S. A., & Crawford, T. J. (2024) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci14060579 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Neural control of blood pressure in women: differences according to age
Peinado, A. B., Harvey, R. E., Hart, E. C., Charkoudian, N., Curry, T. B., Nicholson, W. T., Wallin, B. G., Joyner, M. J., & Barnes, J. N. (2017) · Clinical Autonomic Research · doi:10.1007/s10286-017-0403-0 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationSkin sympathetic nerve activity and ventricular arrhythmias in acute coronary syndrome
Huang, T., Lin, S., Chen, C.-J., Jhuo, S., Chang, C.-W., Lin, S. R., Chi, N.-Y., Chou, L.-F., Tai, L.-H., Liu, Y., et al. (2022) · Heart Rhythm · doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2022.04.031 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Bigalke, J. A., Young, B. E., Cleveland, E. L., Fadel, P. J., & Carter, J. R. (2023) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00359.2023 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Blood Pressure: Return of the Sympathetics?
Joyner, M. J., & Limberg, J. K. (2016) · Current Hypertension Reports · doi:10.1007/s11906-015-0616-3 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationEsmer, M., Keser, İ., Erer, D., & Kupeli, B. (2018) · Lymphatic Research and Biology · doi:10.1089/lrb.2018.0043 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Sympathetic determinants of resting blood pressure in males and females
Nardone, M., Foster, M. N., O'Brien, M. W., Coovadia, Y., Xie, S., Usselman, C. W., Kimmerly, D. S., Taylor, C. E., & Millar, P. J. (2024) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00497.2023 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Johnson, B. D., Peinado, A. B., Ranadive, S. M., Curry, T. B., & Joyner, M. J. (2017) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00030.2017 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationAcute cardiovascular responses to a session of Manual Lymphatic Drainage
Ramos, P. S., Cunha, I. R. M. M., Rachel, M. C., Pacca, P. S. S., Ferreira, A. P., & Ricardo, D. R. (2015) · Fisioterapia em Movimento · doi:10.1590/0103-5150.028.001.ao04 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Acute effects of sublingual nitroglycerin on cardiovagal and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity
Hamaoka, T., Blaha, C., Luck, J. C., Leuenberger, U. A., Sinoway, L. I., & Cui, J. G. (2021) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00304.2020 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Baroreflex responses to limb venous distension in humans
Hamaoka, T., Leuenberger, U. A., Blaha, C., Luck, J. C., Sinoway, L. I., & Cui, J. G. (2022) · American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00028.2022 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
CBF regulation in hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease
Yazdani, N., Kindy, M. S., & Taheri, S. (2020) · Clinical and Experimental Hypertension · doi:10.1080/10641963.2020.1764014 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
High blood pressure inhibits cardiovascular responsiveness to expressive classical music
Pope, V., Soliński, M., Lambiase, P. D., & Chew, E. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-94341-2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The role of peripheral venous distension reflex in regulating hemodynamics: mini review
Hamaoka, T., Sinoway, L. I., & Cui, J. G. (2024) · Autonomic Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.autneu.2024.103217 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Contraceptive efficacy and adverse effects of testosterone enanthate in Thai men.
Sukcharoen, N., Aribarg, A., Kriangsinyos, R., Chanprasit, Y., & Ngeamvijawat, J. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The impact of oral contraceptive pill use on sympathetic transduction at rest in young females
D’Souza, A. W., Hissen, S. L., Manabe, K., Washio, T., Annis, M. C., Sanchez, B., Usselman, C. W., Fu, Q., & Shoemaker, J. K. (2025) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00623.2024 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Differential Control of Muscle Sympathetic Single-Unit Activity in Humans
Incognito, A. V. (2020) · The Atrium (University of Guelph)
Wakeham, D. J. (2020) · Cardiff Metropolitan Research Repository (Cardiff Metropolitan University) · doi:10.25401/cardiffmet.13516751
Elevated muscle sympathetic activity in former smokers with heart failure
Incognito, A. V., Murai, H., Hamaoka, T., Sugimoto, H., Millar, P. J., & Takamura, M. (2022) · Clinical Autonomic Research · doi:10.1007/s10286-022-00857-2
The effects of limb suction during arterial occlusion on arterial baroreflex in humans
Hamaoka, T., Leuenberger, U. A., Blaha, C., Luck, J. C., Sinoway, L. I., & Cui, J. G. (2025) · American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology · doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00365.2025
- Authors
- Wehrwein, E. A., Joyner, M. J., Hart, E. C. J., Wallin, B. G., Karlsson, T., & Charkoudian, N.
- Affiliations
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Venue
- Hypertension
- Published
- 2010-02
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 264-269
- ISSN
- 0194-911X (ISSN-L)
- 1524-4563
- PMC
- PMC2814360
- OpenAlex
- W2045092195
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 1.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Hypertension (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- National Institutes of Health
- Medical Research Council
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL83947, R01HL083947)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (T32DK007352)
- National Center for Research Resources (KL2RR024151, UL1RR024150)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Keywords
- blood pressure regulation, diastolic blood pressure, muscle sympathetic nerve activity, error signal, sex differences, autonomic nervous system, baroreflex control
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Blood Flow Velocity, Blood Pressure, Blood Pressure Determination, Cardiac Output, Female, Hemodynamics, Humans, Male, Muscle, Smooth, Vascular, Reference Values, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Sympathetic Nervous System, Vascular Resistance, Cohort Studies, Muscle, Skeletal
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
