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Development of a Neuromuscular Blocking Procedure for Heart Rate Conditioning in Immobilized Pigeons
Author(s) -
MiganiWall Sandra A.,
Cabot John B.,
Cohen David H.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1977.tb01320.x
Subject(s) - heart rate , conditioning , blockade , pancuronium bromide , regimen , neuromuscular blockade , psychology , sensitization , anesthesia , chemistry , pharmacology , neuroscience , medicine , receptor , blood pressure , statistics , mathematics
Pharmacological neuromuscular blockade has been used for some years in behavioral experiments to eliminate somatomotor responding. However, such blockade has other pharmacological actions, particularly on the autonomic nervous system, that confound its use in such experiments. The present study develops an immobilization procedure for the pigeon that allows heart rate conditioning with acquisition rates and response dynamics equivalent to those of non‐immobilized animals. Part I describes preliminary screening of four classes of blocking agents: curariform, depolarizing, steroidal, and a blocker of excitation‐contraction coupling. None alone were satisfactory in inducing and maintaining immobilization free of undesirable cardiovascular effects. However, these experiments led to a promising regimen in which immobilization was induced with pancuronium bromide and maintained with pancuronium and gallamine triethiodide. Part II describes this regimen and presents conditioning data showing that, for a majority of immobilized animals, conditioned heart rate change differed in no respect from that of non‐immobilized controls. Moreover, there were no differences between immobilized and non‐immobilized sensitization groups, and baseline heart rates neither differed among groups nor changed over training.