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Brain & Heart A mini-review on heart-brain communication

and alters HRV, further investigations are warranted to symptoms of such psychological conditions represents
understand the impact of exercise on HEP. Since HRV an interesting area of neuropharmacology research. In
modulation can be affected by environmental factors such as addition, establishing a link between ICNS and clinico-
PM2.5 (particulate matter <2.5 µm) through mitochondrial physiological parameters such as HRV and HEP can provide
deoxyribonucleic acid methylation, investigations on HEP a promising arena of research as both parameters have been
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changes can be extended to other environmental factors implicated in both cardiac and psychiatric disorders. It is
such as radiations and magnetic fields due to two closely also noteworthy that the discovery of a heart-brain axis,
linked factors: (i) High-strength geomagnetic field of the following that of the well-studied gut-brain axis, underlines
Earth is related with the incidence of ST-segment elevation the possible existence of such communication serving as
myocardial infarction, and (ii) HEP can be influenced by the “consulate general of the brain” in respective organs.
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cardiac activity. Whether intrinsic cardiac ganglia exert a
direct effect on HEP can therefore uncover mysteries of Acknowledgments
heart-brain interactions and shed light on the environmental None.
influence on this interaction (Video A1).
Funding
9. Conclusion
None.
Residing inside the heart, intrinsic cardiac neurons have a
distinct role, working independently and in coordination Conflict of interest
with the autonomic nervous system to control heart
activity during physiological and pathological conditions. The author declares that she has no competing interests.
It is widely perceived that the brain acts as a master Author contributions
regulator, governing the functioning of the heart, all based
on the putative one-way communication from the brain to This is a single-authored article.
the heart. The recent discoveries in neurocardiology have
highlighted the role of ICNS in maintaining a two-way Ethics approval and consent to participate
communication through which the heart receives from the Not applicable.
brain and additionally reciprocates by sending signals to
the brain through parasympathetic transmission. This loop Consent for publication
of communication is critical in both healthy and disease Not applicable.
states, with the latter category, which encompasses heart
and brain diseases, featuring significant alterations in the Availability of data
morphology and physiology of the ICNS.
Not applicable.
The current paper offers a review of the molecular and
clinical aspects of heart-brain communication but does References
not shed light on the cellular and molecular mechanisms
underlying the intricate heart-brain communication 1. Gordan R, Gwathmey JK, Xie LH. Autonomic and
endocrine control of cardiovascular function. World J
in detail due to a dearth of relevant scientific evidence. Cardiol. 2015;7(4):204-214.
Furthermore, there remains a need for population-
based studies, including systematic reviews and meta- doi: 10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204
analysis, for defining norms and patterns of heart-brain 2. Jones GE, Leonberger LT, Rouse CH, Caldwell JA,
communication in healthy and diseased populations. This Jones KR. Preliminary data exploring the presence of an
article provides a precise discussion on the biochemical evoked potential associated with cardiac visceral activity.
and electrophysiological mechanisms of heart-brain Psychophysiology. 1986;23:445.
communication, which could be studied in various 3. Armour JA. Intrinsic cardiac neurons. J Cardiovasc
psychiatric disorders, thereby paving a roadmap for future Electrophysiol. 1991;2:331-341.
research on the heart-brain communication in the disease doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8167.1991.tb01330.x
states. For instance, biomarkers associated with ICNS can
provide a valuable diagnostic tool for debilitating conditions 4. Lizot G, Pasqualin C, Tissot A, Pagès S, Faivre JF,
such as arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. They can also Chatelier A. Molecular and functional characterization of
be used to clarify the abnormal autonomic functioning the mouse intrinsic cardiac nervous system. Heart Rhythm.
under debilitating psychological disorders such as PTSD. 2022;19(8):1352-1362.
The development of ICNS-specific drugs for controlling doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2022.04.012

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 5 doi: 10.36922/bh.2901