The release of catecholamines by shocks and stimuli paired with shocks.
One monkey and five baboons were surgically prepared so that heart rate and blood pressure could be monitored continuously, and an extra-corporeal blood path was established to detect the secretion of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). A respondent conditioning procedure was used in which a tone was paired with electric shocks. Epinephrine, but not norepinephrine was released by shocks, and a corresponding release was demonstrated by the tone alone. Heart rate and blood pressure changes were also elicited by shocks and by the tone.