Behavioral, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine profiles following CCK-4 challenge in healthy volunteers: a comparison of panickers and nonpanickers.

Healthy subjects who panic following systemic cholecystokinin-tetrapeptide (CCK-4) challenge typically exhibit a symptom profile reminiscent of that evident among panic patients. However, the biological concomitants of CCK-4-induced panic in healthy subjects remain obscure. Accordingly, we evaluated the behavioral, cardiovascular, and neuroendocrine effects of CCK-4 in panickers and nonpanickers. Predictably, subjects who panicked with CCK-4 experienced more intense symptoms of panic and greater increases in ratings of fearful and anxious mood than did subjects who did not panic. CCK-4-induced increases in diastolic blood pressure, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, and growth hormone secretion were also significantly enhanced in subjects who panicked. The results of this study demonstrate that the behavioral experience of CCK-4-induced panic in healthy individuals is accompanied by marked biological changes and provide confirmation that CCK-4 is a useful model of panic for research among nonclinical subjects.