Physiology is a wide spanning discipline, and it is interesting to follow its journey into the unknown in different organs, and with ever more sophisticated methods. This research is reflected by high quality publications in physiological journals. Have a look!
The results of this research as well as of comparative physiology and mathematical modelling, provide ever growing insight into the body’s functions, mechanisms of disease and new therapies, including gene therapy and development of vaccines. The close interaction between basic physiological research and clinical work, has improved human health and life span and holds even more promises for the future.
A most interesting aspect of current physiology is that, unlike in past centuries, novel models and techniques have reduced or replaced the need to destroy or dissect organs and tissues to improve understanding of function. Now we can learn from growing cells and stimulating them to form tissues and even “organs”. It has become almost routine for physiologists to manipulate gene expression to study function in the intact animal. We are obtaining novel and unique insights into the principles of self-organisation of cells and their mutual interactions. Exciting times, indeed!
Physiology is a wide spanning discipline, and it is interesting to follow its journey into the unknown in different organs, and with ever more sophisticated methods. This research is reflected by high quality publications in physiological journals. Have a look!
Giorgio Manferdelli et al.
Sympathetic vascular transduction in adults with hypertension and obesity-associated hypertensionhttps://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00298.2026
Although elevated muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) is a common characteristic of essential hypertension, resting sympathetic activation is highly variable. It is unknown whether sympathetic vascular transduction is altered in hypertension, or how obesity, a common comorbidity, modifies vascular transduction.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sympathetic vascular transduction is blunted in hypertensive adults relative to normotensive adults, which is in line with compensatory downregulation of vascular transduction to offset elevated sympathetic vasomotor outflow. The compensatory downregulation of sympathetic vascular transduction is less apparent in obesity-associated hypertension, despite no detectable difference in transduction to blood pressure between groups. Our data provide insight regarding differential sympathetic-vascular mechanisms of blood pressure control in adults with hypertension and obesity-associated hypertension.
Anna Billeschou Bomholt et al
It is unclear whether the reported natriuretic and diuretic effects of glucagon are mediated by renal hemodynamic changes or by direct tubular actions within the kidney.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Glucagon is best known for raising blood sugar, but what does it do to the kidneys? We show that glucagon consistently drives sodium and water excretion in rats through a direct tubular mechanism, largely independent of changes in renal blood flow. Neither glucagon receptor nor GLP-1 receptor blockade alone was sufficient to abolish the response, revealing overlapping receptor pathways. These findings have implications for the growing use of glucagon-based dual and triple agonist therapies.
Yori R. Escalante et al.
The primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA) are critical for motor execution and planning, yet their distinct causal contributions to modulating the neural drive to muscles remain incompletely understood.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Using causal brain stimulation, we demonstrate that the primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA) serve distinct roles. Targeted M1 disruption impairs force magnitude by reducing motor unit firing rates. Conversely, modulating SMA spares net force but disrupts the motor plan, forcing compensatory reliance on smaller units and degrading delta-band coherence. By showing M1 governs power while SMA organizes strategy, this study informs personalized neurorehabilitation for specific cortical deficits.
Much more can be found in this month’s selection of articles from APS journals!
These new and engaging video feature from The Journal of Physiology aims to deliver short and informative research snapshots directly from the authors of research papers selected by the Editors of the journal!
You will find the “Science Topics” on the main page, scrolling down to “News” and clicking “Science Topics”.
The latest topic relates to an article published by Jaehun Jung et al in J Neurosci:
In mammals, including humans, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) serves as the central circadian clock, maintaining the temporal organization of physiological functions in accordance with the day–night cycle. Many SCN neurons are active during the day and less active at night, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this transition are not yet fully understood. In this study, we focused on prokineticin 2 (Prok2)-producing neurons, a population of SCN neurons that contributes to the regulation of daily behavioral rhythms.DPG’s latest paper of the month (Lisa Eiring et al) was recently published in BMC Med Educ.
M1ündlich – S(t)imulation of competency-oriented learning in physiologyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42271374/
From the abstract:
Background: Medical students often enter oral exams with insufficient preparation, especially in articulating knowledge under stress. To improve communication and structured answering, we developed a peer-teaching-based exam training simulating oral exams.
From the results: …. Most students appreciated the peer-group format being effective and high numbers planned to include it in their prospective preparation for oral exams. The tutors also noted an improvement after the second round, particularly in terms of the quality of the students’ presentations: the depth of information and the structure of the answers had improved considerably. Students’ later exam outcomes showed a favorable trend in internal follow-up exams and the oral-practical part of the first section of the German National Medical Licensing Examination (M1)….
Conclusions: Peer-based simulation of oral exams may support communication skills and exam awareness while being associated with reduced stress. It offers a valuable complement to the traditional medical curriculum and is easily adaptable to other disciplines.