This project will map the neuroanatomical connections of the superior cervical ganglia (SCG) in both male and female Sprague-Dawley rats, a model of healthy humans, and the neurobiological effects elicited by electrical stimulation of the cervical sympathetic chains that innervate the SCGs. We expect to extend our present work that suggests that the left and right SCG have different physiological functions and that the left and right SCG talk to one another within the brain to co-ordinate breathing and blood pressure. This work is vital because we believe that a loss of activity of SCG input to the brain and key structures within the body is responsible for the expression of numerous inflammatory disorders including sleep apnea and nocturnal hypertension. As such, we are confident that the work performed in this project will form the basis of future development of novel stimulating devices that will be implanted around the post-ganglionic nerves emanating from the left and/or right SCG in order to specifically treat a disease process that is normally suppressed by the SCG projection.
This direct relevance of this project to human health is that it has many ramifications for understanding the etiology of human health issues and providing novel therapeutic strategies based on electrical stimulation of neuronal projections emanating from neuronal structures known as the left and right superior cervical ganglia. The electrical activation of these projections will be beneficial in the large numbers of patients suffering from conditions such as sleep apnea, nocturnal hypertension and inflammatory disorders of the upper airways.