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The cardiovascular response to exercise is largely determined by neurocirculatory control mechanisms that help to raise blood pressure and modulate vascular resistance which, in concert with regional vasodilatory mechanisms, promote blood flow to active muscle and organs. These neurocirculatory control mechanisms include a feedforward mechanism, known as central command, and three feedback mechanisms, namely, 1) the baroreflex, 2) the exercise pressor reflex, and 3) the arterial chemoreflex. The hemodynamic consequences of these control mechanisms result from their influence on the autonomic nervous system and subsequent alterations in cardiac output and vascular resistance. Although stimulation of the baroreflex inhibits sympathetic outflow and facilitates parasympathetic activity, central command, the exercise pressor reflex, and the arterial chemoreflex facilitate sympathetic activation and inhibit parasympathetic drive. Despite considerable understanding of the cardiovascular consequences of each of these mechanisms in isolation, the circulatory impact of their interaction, which occurs when various control systems are simultaneously activated (e.g., during exercise at altitude), has only recently been recognized. Although aging and cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart failure, hypertension) have both been recognized to alter the hemodynamic consequences of these regulatory systems, this review is limited to provide a brief overview on the action and interaction of neurocirculatory control mechanisms in health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the impact of aging on the elastic and resistive components of the work of breathing (Wb) during locomotor exercise at a given 1) ventilatory rate, 2) metabolic rate, and 3) operating lung volume. Eight healthy younger (25 ± 4 yr) and 8 older (72 ± 6 yr) participants performed incremental bicycle exercise, from which retrospective analyses identified similar ventilatory rates (approximately 40, 70, and 100 L·min-1), similar metabolic rates (VO2: approximately 1.2, 1.6, and 1.9 L·min-1), and similar lung volumes [inspiratory and expiratory reserve volumes (IRV/ERV: approximately 25/34%, 16/33%, and 13-34% of vital capacity]. Wb at each level was quantified by integrating the averaged esophageal pressure-volume loop, which was then partitioned into elastic and resistive components of inspiratory and expiratory work using the modified Campbell diagram. IRV was smaller in the older participants during exercise at ventilations of 70 and 100 L·min-1 and during exercise at the three metabolic rates (P < 0.05). Mainly because of a greater inspiratory elastic and resistive Wb in the older group (P < 0.05), total Wb was augmented by 40%-50% during exercise at matched ventilatory and matched metabolic rates. When examined during exercise evoking similar lung volumes, total Wb was not different between the groups (P = 0.86). Taken together, although aging exaggerates total Wb during locomotor exercise at a given ventilatory or a given metabolic rate, this difference is abolished during exercise at a given operating lung volume. These findings highlight the significance of operating lung volume in determining the age-related difference in Wb during locomotor exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of dietary nitrate supplementation on peripheral hemodynamics, the development of neuromuscular fatigue, and time to task failure during cycling exercise. Eleven recreationally active male participants (27 ± 5 yr, VO2max: 42 ± 2 mL/kg/min) performed two experimental trials following 3 days of either dietary nitrate-rich beetroot juice (4.1 mmol NO3 -/day; DNS) or placebo (PLA) supplementation in a blinded, counterbalanced order. Exercise consisted of constantload cycling at 50, 75, and 100 W (4 min each) and, at -80% of peak power output (218 ± 12 W), to task-failure. All participants returned to repeat the shorter of the two trials performed to task failure, but with the opposite supplementation regime (iso-time comparison; ISO). Mean arterial pressure (MAP), leg blood flow (QL; Doppler ultrasound), leg vascular conductance (LVC), and pulmonary gas exchange were continuously assessed during exercise. Locomotor muscle fatigue was determined by the change in pre to postexercise quadriceps twitch-torque (DQtw) and voluntary activation (DVA; electrical femoral nerve stimulation). Following DNS, plasma [nitrite] (-670 vs. ~180 nmol) and [nitrate] (~775 vs. ~11 µmol) were significantly elevated compared with PLA. Unlike PLA, DNS lowered both QL and MAP by ~8% (P < 0.05), but did not alter LVC (P = 0.31). V O2 across work rates, as well as cycling time to task-failure (~7 min) and locomotor muscle fatigue following the ISO-time comparison were not different between the two conditions (DQtw ~42%, DVA ~4%). Thus, despite significant hemodynamic changes, DNS did not alter the development of locomotor muscle fatigue and, ultimately, cycling time to task failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the interactive influence of the muscle reflex (MR) and the chemoreflex (CR) on the ventilatory response to exercise. Eleven healthy subjects (5 women/6 men) completed three bouts of constant-load single-leg knee-extension exercise in a control trial and an identical trial conducted with lumbar intrathecal fentanyl to attenuate neural feedback from lower-limb group III/IV muscle afferents. The exercise during the two trials was performed while breathing ambient air (Sao2 ~97%, Pao2 ~84 mmHg, Pao2 ~32 mmHg, pH ~7.39), or under normocapnic hypoxia (Sao2 ~79%, Pao2 ~43 mmHg, Pao2 ~33 mmHg, pH ~7.39) or normoxic hypercapnia (Sao2 ~98%, Pao2 ~105 mmHg, Pao2 ~50 mmHg, pH ~7.26). During coactivation of the MR and the hypoxia-induced CR (O2-CR), minute ventilation (V̇e) and tidal volume (VT) were significantly greater compared with the sum of the responses to the activation of each reflex alone; there was no difference between the observed and summated responses in terms of breathing frequency (fB; P = 0.4). During coactivation of the MR and the hypercapnia-induced CR (CO2-CR), the observed ventilatory responses were similar to the summated responses of the reflexes (P ≥ 0.1). Therefore, the interaction between the MR and the O2-CR exerts a hyperadditive effect on V̇e and VT and an additive effect on fB, whereas the interaction between the MR and the CO2-CR is simply additive for all ventilatory parameters. These findings reveal that the MR:CR interaction further augments the ventilatory response to exercise in hypoxia. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although the muscle reflex and the chemoreflex are recognized as independent feedback mechanisms regulating breathing during exercise, the ventilatory implications resulting from their interaction remain unclear. We quantified the individual and interactive effects of these reflexes during exercise and revealed differential modes of interaction. Importantly, the reflex interaction further amplifies the ventilatory response to exercise under hypoxemic conditions, highlighting a potential mechanism for optimizing arterial oxygenation in physically active humans at high altitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to investigate the role of group III/IV muscle afferents in limiting endurance exercise performance, independently of their role in optimizing locomotor muscleO2delivery. While breathing 100%O2to ensure a similar arterialO2content (CaO2) in both trials, eight male cyclists performed 5-km time trials under control conditions (HCTRL) and with lumbar intrathecal fentanyl (HFENT) impairing neural feedback from the lower limbs. After each time trial, common femoral artery blood flow (FBF) was quantified (Doppler ultrasound) during constant-load cycling performed at the average power of the preceding time trial. The assessment of end-tidal gases, hemoglobin content and saturation, and FBF facilitated the calculation of legO2delivery. Locomotor muscle activation during cycling was estimated from vastus lateralis EMG. With electrical femoral nerve stimulation, peripheral and central fatigue were quantified by pre- to postexercise decreases in quadriceps twitch torque (ΔQtw) and voluntary activation (ΔVA), respectively. FBF (~16 mL·min-1·W-1; P = 0.6), CaO2 (~24 mL O2/dL; P = 0.9), and legO2delivery (~0.38 mL O2·min-1·W-1; P = 0.9) were not different during HCTRL and HFENT. Mean power output and time to completion were significantly improved by 9% (~310 W vs. ~288 W) and 3% (~479 s vs. ~463 s), respectively, during HFENT compared with HCTRL. Quadriceps muscle activation was 9 ± 7% higher during HFENT compared with HCTRL (P < 0.05). ΔQtw was significantly greater in HFENT compared with HCTRL (54 ± 8% vs. 39 ± 9%), whereas ΔVA was not different (~5%; P = 0.3) in both trials. These findings reveal that group III/IV muscle afferent feedback limits whole body endurance exercise performance and peripheral fatigue by restricting neural activation of locomotor muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]