The effect of unilateral stellectomy on the regulation of heart rate during behavioral stress.

Changes in heart rate were examined during classical aversive conditioning before and after either left (n = 10) or right stellectomy (n = 8). Heart rate (HR) significantly (p less than 0.01) increased in response to the conditional stimulus with a further increase noted during the unconditional stimulus. After right stellectomy (RSGx) the aversive stress elicited a significantly (p less than 0.01) smaller increase in heart rate (peak HR change: control 66.8 +/- 6.0; RSGx 36.1 +/- 6.8 beats/min). In contrast left stellectomy did not significantly alter the heart rate conditional response. Cardioselective beta-adrenergic receptor blockade, metoprolol HC1 (BB, 1.0 mg/kg, n = 8), significantly (p less than 0.01) reduced the heart-rate conditional response (peak HR change: control 66.8 +/- 6; BB 25.1 +/- 3.8 beats/min) to the same extent as noted during RSGx. These data suggest that the heart-rate increases elicited by aversive stress are mediated in part by sympathetic nerves that originate or pass through the right stellate ganglion. The residual HR increase noted after RSGx or BB probably results from the withdrawal of cardiac parasympathetic activity.