Patent ID: 8175712

Claim:
A method for regulating blood pressure in a subject, comprising: administering a first tetanic electrical induction stimulus, the first tetanic electrical induction stimulus effective to sensitize brainstem baroreflex neurons of a subject for a period of time in the range of about 10-15 hours to produce an enhanced baroreflex in the subject, wherein the enhanced baroreflex is characterized in that a threshold blood pressure for generating a depressor response is lower than prior to induction stimulus administration, the depressor response in the subject is larger than prior to induction stimulus administration or both the threshold blood pressure for generating a depressor response is lower than prior to induction stimulus administration and the depressor response in the subject is larger than prior to induction stimulus administration, wherein the induction stimulus has diminished effectiveness to sensitize brainstem baroreflex neurons of the subject in the presence of an NMDA receptor antagonist, thereby regulating blood pressure in the subject.