Diet-induced obesity severely impairs myelinated aortic baroreceptor reflex responses

Belinda H. McCully, Virginia L. Brooks and Michael C. Andresen

Obesity leads to impaired baroreceptor reflex responses. This article investigated whether the baroreflex input to the brainstem about  around resting or non resting bp was altered. They basically stimulated the aortic depressor nerve (ADN) on one side after removal of the carotid nerve inputs to the brainstem was removed. All animal were put on a high fat diet and those that became obese were put into the obese prone group and those that did not meet the criteria for obesity were put into the obesity resistant group. If the animal were somewhere in between then the animals were thrown out.They then did used different voltages to stimulate the ADN  in order to to see if there were differences between control, obese resistant and obese prone animal. The data showed that the OP had attenuated  response to stimulation of the ADN at lower volts compared to the other two groups. 

Conclusion: This data suggests that Obesity lead to to impaired baroreceptor reflex control of resting blood pressure.

-MD