Learned control of coronary blood flow.

Mongrel dogs with chronically implanted electromagnetic flow probes on the left coronary artery were curarized and trained to decrease coronary blood flow in order to avoid and escape from stress. Each of four animals learned to consistently decrease coronary flow with increasing independence from changes in other cardiovascular dynamics. One animal achieved dramatic decreases suggestive of profound coronary vasoconstriction. The results may have important implications for the understanding of ischemic heart disease.