Recording and quantifying sympathetic outflow to muscle and skin in humans: methods, caveats and challenges.

Vaughan G Macefield
Abstract
The development of microneurography, in which the electrical activity of axons can be recorded via an intrafascicular microelectrode inserted through the skin into a peripheral nerve in awake human participants, has contributed a great deal to our understanding of sensorimotor control and the control of sympathetic outflow to muscle and skin. This review summarises the different approaches to recording muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and skin sympathetic nerve activity (SSNA), together with discussion on the issues that determine the quality of a recording. Various analytical approaches are also described, with a primary emphasis on those developed by the author, aimed at maximizing the information content from recordings of postganglionic sympathetic nerve activity in awake humans.
Journal CLINICAL AUTONOMIC RESEARCH : OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE CLINICAL AUTONOMIC RESEARCH SOCIETY
ISSN 1619-1560
Published 01 Feb 2021
Volume 31
Issue 1
Pages 59-75
DOI 10.1007/s10286-020-00700-6
Type Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't | Review
Sponsorship