Learned Control of Cardiovascular Integration in Man Through Operant Conditioning

Abstract

In previous research, it has been shown that subjects can learn to increase or decrease their systolic blood pressure without corresponding changes in heart rate, or they can learn to increase or decrease their heart rate without corresponding changes in blood pressure. The present paper outlines a method for directly conditioning a combination of two autonomic responses. A system was developed which, at each heart cycle, determines on line whether heart rate and blood pressure are integrated (both increasing or both decreasing) or differentiated (one increasing and one decreasing). To test this method, 5 subjects received a brief light and tone feedback only when their heart rate and blood pressure were simultaneously increasing, and 5 subjects received the feedback only when their heart rate and blood pressure were simultaneously decreasing. Subjects earned rewards consisting of slides and monetary bonuses each time they produced 12 correct heart rate-blood pressure combinations. Significant cardiovascular integration was obtained in a single session. Subjects rewarded for simultaneous increases in heart rate and blood pressure showed small, comparable increases in both, while subjects rewarded for simultaneous decreases showed sizeable decreases in both. Applications of the method in research and treatment are discussed.