The heart has long been seen as an organ primarily controlled by the signals of the brain. However, it is found to possess a much more independent and active nervous system. In a new study published in ‘Nature Communications’, it has brought new light to the internal nervous system of the heart, unveiling its importance in controlling heartbeats and creating its own rhythms.
Heart’s Own Little ‘Brain’
In research done by teams coming from Sweden, Karolinska Institutet and New York’s Columbia University that focused the study on how the nervous system of a heart performs and acts despite the misconception of its previous history where one had believed in the existence that a heart did nothing more but only to serve the order it receives in the brain. According to the researchers, the heart possesses “its own little brain” and does not depend on the brain in every detail of its performance.
Focusing on zebrafish, whose hearts bear astonishing similarities to human hearts, scientists studied the sinoatrial plexus (SAP), the heart’s natural pacemaker. These investigations revealed a wide variety of neurons communicating through different neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine, glutamate, and serotonin. This meant the local control over the heart beats was higher than what they had assumed.
The most surprising thing that was discovered was the neurons in the heart acting as pacemaker-like properties with the generation of rhythmic electrical patterns similar to controlling movements such as walking and breathing in the brain and spinal cord. This shows that it’s not just the instructions of the brain that the heart’s nervous system follows; instead, it actively regulates the heartbeat.
This highly original insight may have enormous ramifications for medical treatments, particularly for arrhythmias and other cardiac problems, and enlightens our understanding of how the heart works.
