Pavlovian conditioning of corticotropin-releasing factor-induced increase of blood pressure and corticosterone secretion in the rat

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is clearly involved in the central regulation of the pituitary-adrenal axis and, moreover, of autonomic nervous system functions. Enhanced sympathetic activity with subsequent increases in blood pressure and heart rate and attenuation of the baroreceptor reflex results from the intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of CRF. Additionally, the peptide has a variety of potent effects on behavioural responses in animals similar to those observed after an experimentally evoked stress. It was therefore of obvious interest to examine whether CRF is a possible mediator of the learning processes associated with physiological stress reaction patterns. Thi…