11.2022 - 02.2026

Autonomic control and brain-body regulation

The autonomic nervous system is a fundamental component of the so-called heart-brain axis. Afferent fibers connect cardiovascular receptors to higher nervous centers, and efferent vagal and cardiac sympathetic pathways that originate in the brain modulate cardiac activity. Modulations of cardiac contractility, heart rate (HR), and HR variability (HRV) due to autonomic control can therefore provide information on the functionality of the heart-brain axis and, in particular, on the health of higher nervous centers. The project aims are to evaluate:
 1. how alterations in the functionality of higher neural centers, as a consequence of acute events (stroke, trauma) or degenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease), are reflected in potential alterations of cardiac autonomic control of HR and HRV;
 2. how external stimuli, such as postural changes that activate cardiovascular autonomic afferents, are reflected through the heart-brain axis in variations in cardiac contractility and HRV.


Alterations in HRV indices, easily obtainable over long periods of time continuously with wearable devices, may provide information on the health of higher nervous centers, complementing the information from instrumental monitoring more difficult to implement (e.g., EEG). Specifically, in the case of traumatic events, these indices could aid in the diagnosis of the severity of a brain injury or help defining its prognosis; and in the case of degenerative disorders, like Parkinson's disease, they could allow monitoring of the disease progression or quantifying the effectiveness of treatments. Characterizing the cardiac autonomic response to postural stimulation of cardiovascular receptors could lead to the development of simple diagnostic tests on the brain-heart axis function. 

Settori Scientifico Disciplinari

BIO/09  PHYSIOLOGY ING-IND/34  INDUSTRIAL BIOENGINEERING

Spoke 4 : Perception and Brain-Body Interaction