Central Nervous System Control of the Heart

The first two "Brain Heart Conferences" in Jerusalem in 1978 and 1983 were based upon the common interests of clinically orientated neurologists and cardiologists in the problems of centr'al autonomic control and autonomic disturbances of the cardiovascular system. The relatively slow scientific progress, at least clinically, in this area may be due to the fact that neither cardiologists nor neurologists felt competent in both topics. Furthermore, it has become increasingly difficult to have an overall view of the basic research and its clinical applications in this field. New research methods, based on a comtination of morphological, biochemical, and physiological techniques, have enabled the functional differentiation of various areas of the brain and subsequently also of the autonomic nervous system. The simple dualistic concept of an antagonistic sympathetic-parasympathetic regulation of the circulatory system is no longer valid. It is clear that numerous neurotransmitters, in particular the neuropeptides, are involved in a highly differentiated subdivision of the autonomic system. One of the aims of the IIIrd International Brain Heart Conference was therefore to supply a synopsis of the latest developments in basic research undertaken in this field by exceptionally competent scientists, to clinically orientated neurologists and cardiologists, and thus to provide new impulses for clinical research.

Inhalt

one: Anatomical and Physiological Aspects of Central Cardiovascular Control.- 1. Anatomic Aspects of Central Nervous Cardiovascular Regulation.- 2. Brainstem Mechanisms Governing the Tonic and Reflex Control of the Circulation.- 3. Rostral Solitary Tract Lesions Produce Vasopressin Dependent Hypertension in the Dog.- two: Neurochemical Basis for Cardiovascular Control.- 4. Morphological and Biochemical Studies on Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Adrenergic Mechanisms and their Interactions in Central Cardiovascular Regulation.- 5. Tyrosine's Effects on Blood Pressure During Hypotension.- 6. Further Evidence for a Vasodepressor Role of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Adrenaline (A) in The Central Nervous System (CNS) of the Rat.- 7. The Renin-Angiotensin-System in the Brain.- 8. Endogenous opioids and Central Cardiovascular Control.- Three: Clinical Aspects.- 9. Effects of Voluntary Control of Blood Pressure on Cardiovascular Regulation During Postural Change.- 10. Differing Aspects of Pre-Stroke and Post- Stroke Hypertension.- 11. The Relationship Between Plasma Renin Activity and the Degree of Impaired Consciousness in Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.- 12. Continuous Electrocardiographic Monitoring in Spontaneous Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.- 13. Pathological-Anatomical Findings within the Autonomic Regulatory Centers in Patients with Neurogenic Cardiovascular Regulatory Dysfunctions.- 14. The Insula and Altered Sympathetic Activity After Experimental Stroke.- 15. Heart Rate Behaviour During Partial Epileptic Seizures. An Electroclinical Study.- Four: Cardioembolic Stroke.- 16. Cardioembolic Stroke: Concepts and Controversies.- 17. Does Cardioembolic Stroke have a Neurologic Profile?.- 18. The Common Coincidence of Carotid and Cardiac Lesions.- 19. Sequential Changes of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Embolic and Thrombotic Cerebral Artery Occlusion.- 20. Timing of Hemorrhagic Transformation of Cardioembolic Stroke.- 21. Pathomechanism of Cardioembolic Stroke.- 22. Recurrent Cerebral Embolism and Factors Related to Early Recurrence-Analysis of 186 Consecutive Cases.- 23. A Prospective Study on the Risk of Immediate Anticoagulation in Cardiac Embolic Stroke.- 24. Brain Hemorrhage in Embolic Stroke.- 25. Cerebral Embolism in Atrial Fibrillation and Nonbacterial Thrombotic Endocarditis.- 26. Mitral and Aortic Valve Prolapse in Younger Patients with Cerebral Ischemic Events- Results of a Prospective Study with Transthoracal and Transesophageal Echocardiography.- 27. Interactive Value of Cardiac Echocardiography and Holter Recording in the Investigation of Stroke.- 28. Cardioembolic Stroke Workshop: Discussion of Abstracts (Chairmen's Synopsis).