Directional couplings between the respiration and parasympathetic control of the heart rate during sleep and wakefulness in healthy subjects at different ages.

Cardiorespiratory interactions are important, both for understanding the fundamental processes of functioning of the human body and for development of methods for diagnostics of various pathologies. The properties of cardiorespiratory interaction are determined by the processes of autonomic control of blood circulation, which are modulated by the higher nervous activity. We study the directional couplings between the respiration and the process of parasympathetic control of the heart rate in the awake state and different stages of sleep in 96 healthy subjects from different age groups.

Synchronization of the Processes of Autonomic Control of Blood Circulation in Humans Is Different in the Awake State and in Sleep Stages.

The influence of higher nervous activity on the processes of autonomic control of the cardiovascular system and baroreflex regulation is of considerable interest, both for understanding the fundamental laws of the functioning of the human body and for developing methods for diagnostics and treatment of pathologies. The complexity of the analyzed systems limits the possibilities of research in this area and requires the development of new tools. Earlier we propose a method for studying the collective dynamics of the processes of autonomic control of blood circulation in the awake state and in different stages of sleep.