My laboratory is engaged in several projects examining the role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating cardiovascular function and predisposition to disease. We have shown that rats, like humans, respond differentially to cocaine.
Some rats have a greater increase in vascular resistance than others.
These rats are predisposed to cocaine-induced cardiomyopathies and hypertension. The enhanced increase in vascular resistance is reduced by drugs that block sympathetic discharge or corticotropin-releasing hormone receptors in the CNS and is associated with a brief burst in sympathetic nerve activity. We are investigating differences in the CNS processing of sympathetic nerve activity that may be responsible for the predisposition to cardiac disease and hypertension. We propose that the rat may provide a model of variable sensitivity to cocaine that can be used both to study the causes of life-threatening myocardial responses to cocaine and how best to treat them. In a related project, we are examining the effects of behavioral stress on cardiac function and structure.