Sympathetic modulation of vagal chronotropic and arrhythmogenic influences on the heart.

In acute experiments on cats, stimulation of the caudal cardiac nerve inhibited tonic and synchronizing components of the vagal chronotropic effects and suppressed arrhythmogenic effect of vagal stimulation. By contrast, stimulation of ansa subclavia potentiated the effects of vagal stimulation. A novel model of vagosympathetic interactions in the heart of mammals is proposed.