Highlights in basic autonomic neurosciences: Is an increase in sympathetic nerve activity involved in the development and maintenance of hypertension?

The 21st century has brought renewed energy to the field of neural control of the cardiovascular system with interest in assessing directly the role of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in initiating and/or maintaining an elevated level of arterial pressure in animal models of cardiovascular disease and in human subjects. Below is a review of some recent studies that use continuous nerve recordings of SNA to look at the time course of changes in activity as hypertension develops. These studies have advanced our understanding of the role of SNA in hypertension, but they also leave us wanting to know more.