Cardiac Physiology
Cardiac Physiology - Related Videos
01:18
Physiology of the Heart: The Cardiac Cycle
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2025
The cardiac cycle describes the events from one heartbeat to the next. It includes three main phases: diastole, atrial systole, and ventricular systole, all driven by changes in chamber pressures and the function of heart valves. Diastole: The Relaxation Phase During diastole, all four heart chambers relax. The atrioventricular (AV) valves open, and the semilunar valves close. This phase sees the lowest chamber pressures, promoting ventricular filling. Venous blood enters the heart through the...
11:55
Physiological Correlates of Emotion Recognition
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2023
Source: Laboratories of Jonas T. Kaplan and Sarah I. Gimbel—University of Southern California The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the activity of the body's internal organs and regulates changes in their activity depending on the current environment. The vagus nerve, which innervates many of the internal organs, is an important part of the system. When our brain senses danger, vagal tone is inhibited, leading to a set of changes in the body designed to make us more prepared to fight or...
11:37
Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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2023
Source: Frederick W. Damen and Craig J. Goergen, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana In this video, high field, small-bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with physiological monitoring is demonstrated to acquire gated cine loops of the murine cardiovascular system. This procedure provides a basis for assessing left-ventricular function, visualizing vascular networks, and quantifying motion of organs due to respiration. Comparable small animal...
05:33
Physiology of the Circulatory System - Concepts
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2019
Homeostasis Conditions in the external environment of an organism can change rapidly and drastically. To survive, organisms must maintain a fairly constant internal environment, which involves continuous regulation of temperature, pH, and other factors. This balanced state is known as homeostasis, which describes the processes by which organisms maintain their optimal internal conditions. To maintain homeostasis, organisms have developed structures with distinct functions. Physiology is the...
05:27
Drawing Blood from Rats through the Saphenous Vein and by Cardiac Puncture
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Cited by 87 •
2007
Blood draws are necessary in a large number of studies, for example to study the pharmacokinetics profile of a compound. Here, we demonstrate how to draw blood from rats using two techniques: blood draw from the saphenous vein or by cardiac puncture.
FAQs
Sympathetic stimulation and parasympathetic vagal activity produce opposing influences on cardiac function. Sympathetic input increases heart rate and contractility, meaning the strength of contraction, whereas vagal activity slows cardiac activity. This balance allows cardiovascular responses to adjust across behavioral states such as stress, exercise, attention, and rest, creating measurable physiological changes.
The sinoatrial node provides the initiating electrical signal that coordinates atrial and ventricular contractions. This timing links the heart’s electrical activity with its pumping cycle, allowing blood flow to remain organized rather than arising from uncoordinated contractions. Studying this sequence helps connect cardiac activity with autonomic regulation and behavioral changes.
Heart rate variability provides a cardiac measure that changes with autonomic activity and behavioral state. Alongside heart rate and blood pressure, it can help researchers examine how exercise, stress, attention, or rest influence cardiovascular regulation. In psychophysiology, these measurements support investigations of arousal, emotional regulation, and stress responses.
A behavioral cardiac study can record heart rate, blood pressure, and heart rate variability while participants experience conditions such as exercise, stress, attention, or rest. Researchers can then compare the resulting patterns across conditions to identify changes in autonomic activity. This approach links observable behavior with measurable cardiovascular responses without relying on a single cardiac measure.
Cardiac physiology supplies measurable indicators of how behavioral states affect the cardiovascular system. Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and heart rate variability can be examined during stress or other conditions relevant to emotional regulation. These measures help behavioral neuroscience and psychophysiology investigate interactions between cardiovascular activity and the nervous system.
Cardiac responses reveal how autonomic activity changes with behavioral conditions and states. Increased or decreased heart rate, altered blood pressure, and differences in heart rate variability provide complementary evidence about cardiovascular regulation. In behavioral research, these outcomes help evaluate arousal, stress responses, attention, emotional regulation, and broader interactions between the cardiovascular and nervous systems.