Release of Glucagon, Induced by Stress

When conscious, lightly restrained primates were startled by noise, the level of glucagon in the plasma rose rapidly and this rise was followed by an elevation of blood glucose but not of plasma insulin. In anaesthetized animals similar effects were produced by unpleasant stimuli (rectal distension, drilling a burr hole in the skull or the passage of an electric current through the head). These experiments show that glucagon is rapidly released in response to various types of stress.