Changes in heart rate instrumentally learned by curarized rats as avoidance responses.

Abstract

2 groups of curarized rats learned to increase or decrease, respectively, their heart rates in order to escape or avoid mild electric shocks. Responses in the appropriate direction were greater during the stimulus preceding shock than during control intervals between shock; they changed in the opposite direction, toward the initial pretraining level, during the different stimulus preceding nonshock. Electromyograms indicated complete paralysis of the gastrocnemius muscle throughout training and for a period of at least 1 hr. thereafter.

Avoidance Conditioning of Autonomic Responses in Man

“…In the other hand , the same avoidance conditioning excepted) in human Ss was studied by Frazier (1966), but he did not employ the bidirectional control design. The procedure in the present experiment referred to studies on the HR avoidance conditioning in animal Ss (i.e., DiCara & Miller, 1968) and positive reinforcement of HR in human Ss (i.e., Shapiro, Tursky & Schwartz, 1970). procedure as described above was also used for the decrease Ss except that everything was turned upside down.…”

Biofeedback bei Kopfschmerzen

“…So haben Miller et al [6] durch kontingente elektrische Stimulation belohnender limbischer Bereiche an der kurarisierten und beatmeten Ratte erreichen können, dass diese eine Vielzahl autonomer Funktionen verändern konnte; einzig kontingente Stimulation bei erwünschter Reaktion ließ die Reaktionsrate sprunghaft ansteigen, was sich als sehr effektiv herausstellte. Miller gelang damit im Tierversuch der Nachweis, dass auch unter Ausschaltung sämtlicher somatischer, insbesondere muskulärer Funktionen (deswegen die Kurarisierung) das autonome Nervensystem direkt beeinflusst werden kann.…”

Instrumentally Conditioned Heart Rate Affected by Atropine Sulfate, Atropine Methylnitrate, Propranolol and Phentolamine in the Curarized Rat

“…Shortly after Katkin and Murray (1968) concluded that these studies demonstrated" the only convincing evidence of instrumental conditioning of ANS responses independently of possible mediators" (p.65), successful results were reported for a variety of autonomic responses (for review, see Harris & Brady, 1974). The responses most extensively investigated so far have been concerned with cardiovascular functions, among which heart rate has been the most often studied (e. g. Black, 1967;Canabac & Serres, 1976;DiCara & Miller, 1968;Engel & Gottlieb, 1970;Fields, 1970;Hothersall & Brener, 1969;Miller & Di-Cara, 1967;Slaughter, Hahn, & Rinaldi, 1970;Trowill, 1967).…”