Aversive conditioning of elevations in total peripheral resistance in dogs

Operant conditioning experiments were performed with 12 chronically instrumented dogs to which aversive stimulation was presented whenever total peripheral resistance (mean pressure/cardiac output) decreased acutely below a criterion level. Initial experiments in which aversive stimulation occurred whenever total peripheral resistance decreased below mean base-line levels resulted in sustained decreases in total peripheral resistance, accompanied by elevations in heart rate, cardiac output, and arterial pressure. Subsequent experiments showed, however, that if aversive stimulation occurred only following large-magnitude decreases in resistance (30% below base-line levels), a progressive cardiovascular response pattern emerged during daily sessions of 5--16 h. This cardiovascular pattern included progressive elevations in resistance (10--50%), accompanied by progressive decreases or no change in heart rate and cardiac output and moderate increases in arterial (up to 20 mmHg) and pulse pressure. These within-session cardiovascular changes were accompanied by sustained inhibition of overt behavioral acitivity and progressive inhibition in respiratory activity. Implications of these observation for behavioral regulation of circulatory function are discussed.