Urine Flow, Catecholamines, and Blood Pressure The Variability of Response of Normal Human Subjects in a Relaxed Laboratory Setting

The relationship of catecholamines, urine flow, blood pressure, and other variables were studied in 34 healthy college males placed alone in a laboratory relatively free of external stimuli. Urine was collected pre and post ingestion of water, and the urine flow was found to vary widely in a single individual, both pre and post ingestion of water. The initial urinary flow and excretion rates of norepi-nephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) correlated with the degree of water diuresis which occurred within 1 hr. after ingestion of water. The urinary excretion rates for NE and E were also positively correlated with the magnitude of urine flow following water ingestion as well as with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The heart rate was positively correlated only with E excretion. The baseline NE excretion of smokers was greater than that of nonsmokers. The baseline urine flow of smokers was one-half that of nonsmokers. Serial Nowlis mood-adjective check lists revealed that subjects with a high urine flow checked less anxiety adjectives on arrival. They also checked more adjectives for pleasant feelings at the end of the study and showed an increas