Effects of antihypertensive drugs on ultrasound production and cardiovascular responses in 15-day-old rats

When exposed to extreme cold or injected with the alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine, infant rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Based upon the cardiovascular changes that accompany these two manipulations, especially decreased venous return, it was hypothesized that USVs are the acoustic by-product of the abdominal compression reaction (ACR), a maneuver that increases venous return. If this hypothesis is correct, then other anithypertensive drugs that decrease venous return should evoke USVs. In Experiment 1, sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 400 microg/kg), a direct-acting dilator of arteries and veins, was administered to 15-day-old rats under thermoneutral conditions while cardiac rate and ultrasound production were monitored. In Experiment 2, femoral artery pressure was monitored after SNP administration. Infants responded to SNP administration with decreased arterial pressure and tachycardia and, in addition, significantly increased ultrasound production. In Experiment 3, chlorisondamine (5 mg/kg), a ganglionic blocker that causes vasodilation and bradycardia, and hydralazine (20 mg/kg), a selective dilator of arteries, was administered to 15-day-olds. As predicted, chlorisondamine evoked ultrasound production and hydralazine did not. These results introduce SNP and chlorisondamine as only the second and third known agents capable of independently evoking USVs in thermoneutral conditions, and provide further support for the notion that ultrasound production is triggered by decreased venous return.