The effect of behavioral stimulant doses of amphetamine on blood pressure
L. L. Simpson
Blood pressure responses to amphetamine have been studied both in humans
and in rats. Blood pressure was monitored in patients who had experienced
an adverse behavioral reaction to the drug. All of the patients had
self-administereed amphetamine, and later sought medical attention for
their adverse reaction. In a series of 14 patients, there was no evidence
that amphetamine had evoked a sustained increase in blood pressure. In
rats, experiments were conducted in two steps: (1) a determination of the
doses of amphetamine that cause behavioral stimulation, and (2) an
evaluation of the blood pressure effects of the same dose of amphetamine.
In control animals, behavioral stimulant doses of amphetamine exerted only
transient effects on blood pressure. In pithed animals, ie, animals devoid
of all central mechanisms, amphetamine exerted a sustained effect on blood
pressure. It is concluded that the potential ability of amphetamine to
evoke sustained cardiovascular responses is damped by the central nervous
system of intact animals.
