Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

The Psychobiology Of Hostility: Possible Endogenous Opioid Mechanisms, Stephen Bruehl, James Mccubbin, Charles Carlson, John Wilson, Jane Norton, George Colclough, Marianne Brady, Jeffrey Sherman

James A. McCubbin

This study examined the role of endogenous opioids in the relation between hostility and cardiovascular stress responsiveness. Forty-six mencompleted the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale, and experienced a laboratory pain stressor once under opioid blockade and once under placebo. Hostility scores were significantly related to the magnitude of change in cardiovascular reactivity/recovery resulting from opioid blockade. Low scorers on the Cynicism subscalc displayed increases in heart rate (HR) reactivity under blockade relative to placebo, with reactivity decreases noted in high scorers. Low Hostile Affect scores were similarly associated with impaired diastolic blood pressure recovery under opioid blockade. HR recovery results were somewhat …