Abstract
Cranial nerves densely innervate the heart and vasculature, with sensory neurons reporting on blood pressure, respiratory gases and tissue damage1. The roles of arterial baroreceptors in systemic physiology are well appreciated2, but the functions of vagal cardiac mechanoreceptors have been more difficult to parse, in part due to the closed-loop structure of the cardiovascular system. Here we use genetic tools in mice to identify a small group of neurons that are acutely sensitive to circulating blood volume and initiate a reflex that compensates for decreased filling of the heart in an upright posture and haemorrhage. Vagal PIEZO2 neurons form characteristic end-net endings in the heart, lower blood pressure in response to optogenetic stimulation and display blood-volume-dependent responses with every heartbeat that are time-locked to atrial and ventricular systole. Knockout of Piezo2 and/or ablation of PIEZO2 neurons in vagal ganglia eliminates this heartbeat-coupled nerve activity, causes orthostatic hypotension and compromises cardiovascular stability during trauma-induced blood loss. Together, these findings demonstrate that vagal mechanoreceptors monitor the cardiac cycle and initiate a blood-volume-dependent reflex that defends the constancy of circulation.