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Relaxation training and opioid inhibition of blood pressure response to stress
J A McCubbin1, J F Wilson, S Bruehl
1Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington 40536-0086, USA.
Abstract:
The present study was designed to determine the role of endogenous opioid mechanisms in the circulatory effects of relaxation training. Opioid mechanisms were assessed by examination of the effects of opioid receptor blockade with naltrexone on acute cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress before and after relaxation training. Thirty-two young men with mildly elevated casual arterial pressure were recruited for placebo-controlled naltrexone stress tests and relaxation training. The results indicated that relaxation training significantly reduced the diastolic pressure response to mental arithmetic stress. Opioid receptor blockade with naltrexone antagonized the effects of relaxation training. These findings suggest that some of the physiological effects of relaxation training are mediated by augmentation of inhibitory opioid mechanisms.