Journal
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
Volume 33, Issue 2, Pages 116-124Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.024
Keywords
Adiposity; Autonomic nervous system; Muscle sympathetic nerve activity
Categories
Funding
- NHLBI NIH HHS [K02 HL67227, K02 HL067227-06, R01 HL62283, R01 HL062283-06, R01 HL062283, K02 HL067227] Funding Source: Medline
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The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) plays an essential role in the regulation of metabolic and cardiovascular homeostasis. Low SNS activity has been suggested to be a risk factor for weight gain and obesity development. In contrast, SNS activation is characteristic of a number of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases that occur more frequently in obese individuals. Until recently, the relation between obesity and SNS behavior has been controversial because previous approaches for assessing SNS activity in humans have produced inconsistent findings. Beginning in the early 19905, many studies using state of the art neurochemical and neurophysiological techniques have provided important insight. The purpose of the present review is to provide an overview of our current understanding of the region specific alterations in SNS behavior in human obesity. We will discuss findings from our own laboratory which implicate visceral fat as an important depot linking obesity with skeletal muscle SNS activation. The influence of weight change on SNS behavior and the potential mechanisms and consequences of region specific SNS activation in obesity will also be considered. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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