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Biomedical subjects

A G Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to A G Phillips.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Reversal by L-dopa of impaired learning due to destruction of the dopaminergic nigro-neostriatal projection.

Rats receiving bilateral stereotaxic injections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the zona compacta of the substantia nigra failed to learn a one-way active avoidance response. Small doses of L-dopa (1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) in combination with a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor reversed this impairment. Animals with lesions which acquired the avoidance response during L-dopa administration retained this response when drug treatment was discontinued. These experiments suggest that the dopaminergic nigro-neostriatal projection serves a critical function in the acquisition of learned instrumental responses.

Animals↗

Dopaminergic and noradrenergic substrates of positive reinforcement: differential effects of d- and l-amphetamine.

Intracranial self-stimulation was elicited from electrodes located in either the lateral hypothalamus or substantia nigra of the rat. Facilitatory effects of d- and l-isomers of amphetamine on self-stimulation were assessed. The d-isomer was seven to ten times more effective than the l-isomer at the hypothalamic placement, whereas the two isomers were equipotent for substantia nigra electrodes. These data support the hypothesis that both dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems subserve positive reinforcement.

Amphetamine↗

Object-carrying by rats: an approach to the behavior produced by brain stimulation.

Rats were provided with opportunity to turn reinforcing hypothalamic stimulation on and off by traversing back and forth across a chamber. When provided with edible and inedible objects, all animals that self-stimulated carried them from the stimulation to the nonstimulation side. Neither food deprivation nor a history of stimulus-bound eating produced a preference for the edible objects. Equivalent stimulation provided without regard to the animals' location in the chamber did not elicit object-carrying. Results are interpreted in terms of the natural conditions which normally elicit this species-specific unit of behavior. Implications for understanding other behavior patterns elicited by hypothalamic stimulation are suggested.

Animals↗