Abstract
Abstract This study compares changes in anxiety and cardiovascular variables elicited by intravenously infused adrenaline in 45 male university students who were selected on the basis of their trait anxiety. During the infusion cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, systolic blood pressure and heart rate increased and diastolic blood pressure and pre-ejection period decreased, dose-dependently. High trait anxiety was associated with higher levels of adrenaline-induced anxiety. Across all subjects, adrenaline-induced anxiety was inversely related to aerobic fitness. Emotional and cardiovascular reactivity was similar in low- and high-anxious subjects, but high autonomic instability may be associated with enhanced emotional reactivity to infused adrenaline. Thus, anxiety in the central nervous system can be elicited by a peripheral stimulant such as adrenaline, but controlling for physical fitness and autonomic lability may be necessary.
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