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PubMed · 3555798

Environmental considerations for exercise.

Abstract

Physical activity, whether at a competitive or a recreational level, is frequently affected by environmental conditions. With changes in the natural environment, the exercising individual invokes a series of complex physiologic responses that are directed at maintaining homeostasis. This article will focus on the nature of these responses, with special reference to their influence on cardiorespiratory function. Because alterations in ambient temperature and ascent to altitude are the most common and are the most extensively studied of man's adaptational abilities, these will provide the basis for this discussion.

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BibTeXRIS

L E Hart, J R Sutton. 1987. Environmental considerations for exercise.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3555798/

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Expression of Fos immunoreactivity in some catecholaminergic brainstem neurons in rats following high-altitude exposure.

This study examined the response of neurons of the cardiorespiratory centers, i.e., the nucleus tractus solitarius and the ventrolateral medulla as well as the area postrema in adult and postnatal rats subjected to high-altitude exposure at 4,000 m and 8,000 m. In adult control rats, sporadic Fos-positive neurons were detected in the above-mentioned areas. On exposure to 4,000 m altitude, the number of Fos-positive neurons was noticeably increased. At 8,000 m, the incidence of labeled cells was markedly increased, with many of them doubly labeled for tyrosine hydroxylase. In postnatal rats, Fos expression was not detected in these areas in either control rats or rats exposed to 4,000 m altitude. Fos-positive cells, however, were observed in the these areas in postnatal rats exposed to 8,000 m. In the latter, tyrosine hydroxylase labeling was observed in some Fos-positive cells in the nucleus tractus solitarius and ventrolateral medulla. In rats killed at 24 hr after exposure to high altitude, Fos expression in both the adult and the postnatal rats was comparable to that in their corresponding control rats. Present results suggest that Fos expression in various brainstem areas was induced by reduced oxygen tension in the ambient air at high altitude. Double labeling of some Fos-positive neurons with tyrosine hydroxylase indicates an increased sympathetic activation, which may be involved in the mediation of cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia. This, however, was less evident in the postnatal animals. It is possible that the peripheral chemoreceptors or the regulation of autonomic functions is not fully developed in this age group.

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