Classical conditioning of the human blood pressure response

The object of this experiment was to demonstrate that blood pressure respon ses could be classically conditioned in human subjects and to describe the topography of the conditioned response. Despite clear evidence for classica l blood pressure conditioning in animals there is little evidence concernin g a clear demonstration of the phenomenon in human subjects, and no descrip tion of the form of the conditioned response. A 'neutral' 8-s 70-db tone (C S) was paired with a 500-ms electric shock (UCS) in a delay conditioning pa radigm. Conditioned subjects were compared to a control group that received the CS and UCS on a truly random schedule. The subjects in the conditionin g group showed a conditioned blood pressure response that emerged during th e last 4 s of the 8-s CS, The results differ from those obtained from anima ls, where the CR typically emerges during the first half of the CS, These d ata may have implications for the role of learning in hypertensive disorder s. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.