Received September 14, 2007
Revised September 20, 2007
Accepted after revision September 20, 2007
Cardiovascular Control [210]
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HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN MICE: A THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL GUIDE
Jérôme THIREAU 1,
Bei-Li ZHANG 1,
Denise POISSON 1,
Dominique Babuty 2*
1 CNRS
2 CHRU Trousseau
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: d.babuty{at}chu-tours.fr.
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Abstract |
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The mouse is the animal model principally used to study biological processes in mammals. The mutation, overexpression or knockout of one or several genes can provide insight into human disease. In cardiovascular research, evaluation of autonomic nervous function is an essential tool for a better understanding of the physiopathological conditions in which cardiomyopathy arises and develops. Analysis of heart rate variability is the least invasive method to evaluate the sympathovagal balance on the sino-atrial level. The need to perform this technique on freely moving mice emerged in the 1990s, but despite previous studies it has been difficult to set up and standardize a common protocol. The multitudes of techniques used, plus subtle differences in methodology, impede the comparison and clear interpretation of results. This article aims to make a survey of heart rate variability analysis and to establish a standardized protocol for the assessment of the autonomic neural regulation of HR in mice.
Key Words:
Autonomic nervous system, Heart
