Exercise Rewires Heart's Nerve Control Asymmetrically — SkimNews
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- University of Bristol researchers discovered that 10 weeks of moderate aerobic exercise in rats reshaped the stellate ganglia—nerve clusters controlling heart function—with the right side gaining nearly four times as many neurons as the left.
- Stellate ganglia neurons changed in opposite directions: those on the left nearly doubled in size, while those on the right became slightly smaller, revealing an unexpected left-right asymmetry in how exercise affects the heart’s nervous control.
- Dr. Augusto Coppi stated the findings uncover a previously hidden side-specific pattern in the autonomic nervous system, likening the stellate ganglia to the heart’s 'dimmer switch' that exercise remodels asymmetrically.
- The research team used 3D stereology to analyze nerve cells in rats, a collaboration involving University College London, the University of São Paulo, and the Federal University of São Paulo.
- The study, published in Autonomic Neuroscience, suggests these structural changes could inform more precise treatments for arrhythmias, angina, and stress-induced 'broken-heart' syndrome by targeting one side of the nervous system over the other.
Why it matters: If confirmed in humans, the left-right nerve asymmetry induced by exercise could shift how doctors target nerve-blocking therapies for heart conditions—potentially improving outcomes for patients with arrhythmias or angina by focusing on the more responsive side, based on structural changes seen in trained rats.
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