Abstract
At the present time there appear to be many clues, but no convincing direct evidence, specifying the exact intervening pathophysiological mechanisms that link coronary risk factors to cardiovascular disease. This is particularly true of the physiological and biochemical mechanisms that may link behavioral variables to the etiology and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. In the face of this intransigent problem, behavioral experiments in animals offer an opportunity to study the biological mechanisms linking specific patterns of behavior with various manifestations of cardiovascular pathology.