# Molecular and Functional Taxonomy of Cardiovagal Neurons

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2024 · $75,985

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Heart rate is one of the most widely used and informative metrics of health. Yet, the neural circuits which
determine heart rate are only partly known. Over a century of research has shown that heart rate is oppositely
controlled by the two branches of the autonomic nervous system, which increase (sympathetic) or decrease
(parasympathetic) heart rate in response to the body’s changing needs for circulation. Parasympathetic input to
the heart occurs through the vagus nerve, a cranial nerve which carries axons from hindbrain parasympathetic
neurons, known as cardiovagal neurons, to downstream neurons in the cardiac ganglia. A minority of these
neurons reside in a region of the hindbrain called the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) but were
recently found capable of robustly decreasing heart rate. However, the DMV is also home to a variety of other
neurons, which presents significant technical challenges to studying the cardiovagal subset. For instance,
intermingled with the DMV cardiovagal neurons are parasympathetic neurons which mediate digestive,
metabolic, and immune functions. The inability to access the cardiovagal subset has greatly limited what we
know about their synaptic circuitry, gene expression, and specific roles in heart function. Thus, there is much to
learn about the nature of these important neurons, how they function, and how they can be targeted to treat
heart disease. Our preliminary studies identified one molecular subtype of DMV neuron which innervates
cardiac ganglia. Our proposed research will target this subtype to manipulate its activity and reveal its
physiological role and significance. The results will identify DMV neurons which control heart rate and so may
reveal a new therapeutic target for treating heart disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11082067
- **Project number:** 3R01HL153916-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** John Nelson Campbell
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $75,985
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-09-11 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11082067

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11082067, Molecular and Functional Taxonomy of Cardiovagal Neurons (3R01HL153916-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11082067. Licensed CC0.

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