Researchers have discovered the heart has its own brain, uncovering its own complex nervous system that controls the heartbeat.
Principal researcher Konstantinos Ampatzis, from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, said the heart had long been thought to be controlled solely by the autonomic nervous system, which transmitted signals from the brain.
Assistant Professor Ampatzis said the heart’s neural network, which was embedded in the superficial layers of the heart wall, had been considered a simple structure that relayed the signals from the brain.
“However, recent research suggests that it has a more advanced function than that,” he said.
“This ‘little brain’ has a key role in maintaining and controlling the heartbeat, similar to how the brain regulates rhythmic functions such as locomotion and breathing.”
Assistant Professor Ampatzis said a better understanding of this system could lead to new treatments for heart diseases.
“We were surprised to see how complex the nervous system within the heart is.
“Understanding this system better could lead to new insights into heart diseases and help develop new treatments for diseases such as arrhythmias.”
He said researchers identified several types of neurons in the heart that had different functions, including a small group of neurons with pacemaker properties.
“We will now continue to investigate how the heart’s brain interacts with the actual brain to regulate heart functions under different conditions such as exercise, stress, or disease.”
Read the full study: Decoding the molecular, cellular, and functional heterogeneity of zebrafish intracardiac nervous system.
