Summary When reflexes are initiated by stimulation of a chemoreceptor it is known as chemoreflex activation, an action which is important to this research. Chemoreflex can be activated by hypoxia, a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissue and hypercapnia, excessive carbon dioxide in the bloodstream. Chemoreflex is a powerful stimulus that can “excite” the sympathetic nervous system, this excitement can then evoke “elevations in the muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA)”. The interaction between chemoreflex and sympathetic responses has been studied by researchers for years because it is believed that chemoreflex activation leads to elevations in muscle synaptic nerve activity in people with sleep apnea, a “disorder that
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The analysts began their own experiments by gathering eighteen healthy nonsmoking participants, nine women and nine men, the participants were physically active and most were Caucasian. The participants were informed about the purpose of the experiment and were given strict instructions to ensure the experiment would be properly executed. The women reported normal menstrual cycles with no reported use of contraceptives, the women were tested one to four days’ after menstruation began and later at twenty to twenty-four days after menstruation began. Blood samples were taken to determine sex hormone levels and to mark the menstrual cycle phases. During the experimentation, the participants were instructed to breathe through a mouthpiece which was “attached to a three-way valve that opened to room air or to a Y connector leading to two 3-liter rebreathing bags”. Nose clips were placed on the participants to prevent nasal breathing; another clip was attached to the ear to monitor blood oxygen levels. After the recordings were taken, participants were then ordered to begin rebreathing resulting in voluntary maximal end-respiratory apnea. Participants were then ordered to take two breaths from rebreathing bags after apnea stopped in order to record the peak of hypoxia and hypercapnia …show more content…
The researchers ran tests that would reinforce their hypothesis that the sympathetic responses would be affected by gender and sex hormone levels. The tests included both healthy women and men that followed strict guidelines in order to provide accurate results and eventually a valid conclusion. Women were focused more by the researchers than the men because the analysts were interested mainly in the effects the menstrual cycle had on the sympathetic response system. Sleep apnea was also a studied during this experiment to observe hypoxia and hypercapnia in both genders and measure the baseline of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Once a baseline was established the women’s menstrual cycles were closely monitored especially the EF and ML phases which contained great amounts of sympathoexcitation. Chemoreflex created greater MSNA bursts and amplitude, chemoreflex increases were similar in both genders. This study then concludes that gender and the menstrual cycle do affect parts of the study and sympathetic nervous system, but overall had no damaging or long lasting effects. From this research, I have learned that biological differences can affect one’s nervous system, but not dramatically. After reading this article some of my beliefs have changed on the topic before I did any research I believed that one’s gender should not affect their health,
The analysts began their own experiments by gathering eighteen healthy nonsmoking participants, nine women and nine men, the participants were physically active and most were Caucasian. The participants were informed about the purpose of the experiment and were given strict instructions to ensure the experiment would be properly executed. The women reported normal menstrual cycles with no reported use of contraceptives, the women were tested one to four days’ after menstruation began and later at twenty to twenty-four days after menstruation began. Blood samples were taken to determine sex hormone levels and to mark the menstrual cycle phases. During the experimentation, the participants were instructed to breathe through a mouthpiece which was “attached to a three-way valve that opened to room air or to a Y connector leading to two 3-liter rebreathing bags”. Nose clips were placed on the participants to prevent nasal breathing; another clip was attached to the ear to monitor blood oxygen levels. After the recordings were taken, participants were then ordered to begin rebreathing resulting in voluntary maximal end-respiratory apnea. Participants were then ordered to take two breaths from rebreathing bags after apnea stopped in order to record the peak of hypoxia and hypercapnia …show more content…
The researchers ran tests that would reinforce their hypothesis that the sympathetic responses would be affected by gender and sex hormone levels. The tests included both healthy women and men that followed strict guidelines in order to provide accurate results and eventually a valid conclusion. Women were focused more by the researchers than the men because the analysts were interested mainly in the effects the menstrual cycle had on the sympathetic response system. Sleep apnea was also a studied during this experiment to observe hypoxia and hypercapnia in both genders and measure the baseline of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Once a baseline was established the women’s menstrual cycles were closely monitored especially the EF and ML phases which contained great amounts of sympathoexcitation. Chemoreflex created greater MSNA bursts and amplitude, chemoreflex increases were similar in both genders. This study then concludes that gender and the menstrual cycle do affect parts of the study and sympathetic nervous system, but overall had no damaging or long lasting effects. From this research, I have learned that biological differences can affect one’s nervous system, but not dramatically. After reading this article some of my beliefs have changed on the topic before I did any research I believed that one’s gender should not affect their health,