The overall aim of this proposal is to prepare the applicant for an independent career in the area of social stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This will be accomplished by training the applicant in a number of research skills in cardiovascular (CV) psychophysiology, and applying these skills to the study of psychosocial stress in laboratory rats. The research plan includes six experiments which focus on the investigation of the influence of different types of social stress on CV function. In addition to the effects of social stress, the research calls for the examination of the interaction between exposure to a high soduim diet and social stress in rats that differ in their genetic susceptibility to sodium-induced hypertension. These variables--genotype, level of sodium in the diet, and various types of social stress--will be measured with regard to the acute and cumulative effects on CV function. An important feature of the research is that CV processes will be measured by a direct recording procedure (cannulation) so that concurrent and acute CV response to social stress can be measured. This new methodology will be applied to a number of social stress contexts so that parallels can be drawn between ongoing social dymanics and the corresponding CV response. The social encounters that will be investigated will include social defeat, territorial attack patterns, sexual behavior, and approach/avoidance social conflict. It is intended that these studies will contribute to the beginning of a comprehensive social stress model in the laboratory rat. This model of social stress and CV function could be of great importance in the ultimate understanding of social stress influences in cardiovascular disease.
