MODULATION OF BARORECEPTOR SENSITIVITY DURING OPERANT CARDIAC CONDITIONING

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses modulation of baroreceptor sensitivity during operant cardiac conditioning in animals. In an experiment described in the chapter, where the animals had to override the baroreceptor reflexes to escape electrical shock, they did so. Thus, the major hypothesis that the conditions threatening the well-being of the animal will produce behaviorally mediated adjustments in CV reflexes is fulfilled. All behavior is contingent upon its consequences in relation to biological determinants of survival. When a reflex competes with a learned response, the learned response will take precedence over the reflex. This is equally true for responses mediated by the ANS and by the somatic nervous system. However, as the effectors regulated by these two nervous systems have different characteristics, for example, speed of response or quality of interaction with other effectors, the interactions between learned behavior and reflex behavior must be analyzed using analytical procedures that are appropriate to the effector of interest.