Interaction among cardiac, respiratory, and locomotor rhythms during cardiolocomotor synchronization.

The nature of entrainment between cardiac and locomotor rhythms was investigated while normal human subjects walked or ran on a treadmill. To detect the incidence of entrainment occurrence, the phase relationships among cardiac, respiratory, and locomotor rhythms were analyzed. The phase relationship between heartbeats and gait signals showed that entrainment of cardiac rhythm to locomotor rhythm occurred in all subjects at one or more treadmill speeds. To elucidate interactions among cardiac, respiratory, and locomotor rhythms during the cardiolocomotor synchronization, spectral and coherence analyses were done for these three rhythms. Spectral and coherence analyses on fluctuations in the heart period and respiratory rhythms revealed that the strength of coupling between cardiac and respiratory rhythms decreased in the presence of cardiolocomotor synchronization. In addition, the coupling of cardiac and locomotor rhythms appeared to induce dissociation of coupling between respiratory and locomotor rhythms. These results were similar to those observed when stepping was voluntarily synchronized with cardiac rhythm. Possible mechanisms to explain coordination and interaction among the neural oscillators innervating these three rhythms are discussed.