Beta-adrenergic influence on cardiac dynamics during shock-avoidance in dogs.

The role of beta-adrenergic receptors in the mediation of the cardiodynamic effects of a shock-avoidance task was evaluated in conscious dogs with the cardioselective beta-adrenergic antagonist practolol. The animals were chronically instrumented for the measurement of peak rate of change of left ventricular pressure (LV dP/dt), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), systolic (SPB) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure and total peripheral resistance (TPR), and were each subjected to brief bouts of shock-avoidance with and without practolol pretreatment (2-4 mg/kg). Shock-avoidance evoked reliable increases of LV dP/dt, HR, CO, SBP and DBP, and decreases of TPR. Beta-adrenergic blockade virtually eliminated LV dP/dt increases, attenuated HR and CO increase as well as the vasodilatation, diminished SBP increases in certain animals but did not affect DBP increases. Stable interindividual differences in the magnitude of LV dP/dt and HR increases during shock-avoidance were demonstrated; these differences were abolished by beta blockade. These findings indicate that a beta-adrenergic mechanism accounted for most of the rise of LV dP/dt during avoidance but contributed proportionally less to the elevations of HR and CO. Inter-individual differences in myocardial reactivity were however completely ascribable to beta-adrenergic factors.