Microneurography and sympathetic nerve activity: a decade-by-decade journey across 50 years

Abstract

The technique of microneurography has advanced the field of neuroscience for the past 50 years. While there have been a number of reviews on microneurography, this paper takes an objective approach to exploring the impact of microneurography studies. Briefly, Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) was used to identify the highest citation articles over the past 50 years, and key findings are presented in a decade-by-decade highlight. This includes the establishment of microneurography in the 1960s, the acceleration of the technique by Gunnar Wallin in the 1970s, the international collaborations of the 1980s and 1990s, and finally the highest impact studies from 2000 to present. This journey through 50 years of microneurographic research related to peripheral sympathetic nerve activity includes a historical context for several of the laboratory interventions commonly used today (e.g., cold pressor test, mental stress, lower body negative pressure, isometric handgrip, etc.) and how these interventions and experimental approaches have advanced our knowledge of cardiovascular, cardiometabolic, and other human diseases and conditions.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system; cardiovascular disease; microneurographic; muscle sympathetic nerve activity; orthostatic intolerance.

Fig. 1.

Conceptual overview of laboratory interventions and disease models that have been studied using microneurography. LBNP, lower body negative pressure; OSA, obstructive sleep apnea; POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; CVD, cardiovascular disease.