title: Suppression of the development of adjuvant arthritis by a conditioned aversive stimulus.
abstract: The present study evaluated the effect of a conditioned aversive stimulus (CS) on the development of adjuvant-induced arthritis in Lewis rats. Experiment 1 showed that presentation of a CS, on days 12, 14, and 16 following injection with adjuvant containing mycobacterium tuberculosis, resulted in a pronounced suppression of the development of arthritis as measured by a clinical disease severity rating scale and spleen weight. In contrast, presentation of the CS on days 0, 2, and 4 following injection did not have any effect on the development of arthritis. Experiment 2 showed that the suppression of adjuvant arthritis by exposure to the CS was blocked by administration of propranolol, a nonselective beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist. These results demonstrate that a CS can alter the development of adjuvant-induced arthritis, but the effect is dependent upon the timing of the antigen exposure and the presentation of the CS. Moreover, the present findings suggest that blocking beta-adrenergic receptors during presentations of the CS prevents the suppressive effect of the CS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3270.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Lysle
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Luecken
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Maslonek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004597:Electroshock; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D011433:Propranolol