SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Exploratory Behavior”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 685 records · Page 38Linked to original sources

PubMed1985

Genetic effects and sexual dimorphism in tyrosine hydroxylase activity in two mouse strains and their reciprocal F1 hybrids.

This study further analyzed the environmental and genetic mechanisms underlying the previously reported strain differences in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity in the nigrostriatal and hypothalamic dopamine system of the BALB/cJ (B) and CBA/J (C) inbred mouse strains and related behavioral processes using parental and reciprocal F1 hybrid generations. Significant strain differences were found in both sexes in all the measured characters. Comparing males and females, sexual dimorphisms were found in TH activity of substantia nigra (SN), corpus striatum (CS) and hypothalamus (H), and in exploratory behavior (IE). Presence of sexual dimorphism was genotype dependent, with the exception of TH activity in H. Major components of strain differences, maternal effects and additive gene effects, were separated by biometrical genetic methods. The analysis indicated that significant maternal effects were present in TH activity of TH and CS with a trend towards this phenomenon in the SN. Additive gene effects were significant in all characters and various degrees of dominance were expressed in the hybrids in TH activity of SN and CS, as well as in behavioral traits, IE and spontaneous locomotion (SL). All the biochemical and behavioral parameters were expressed at lower levels in CBA/J than in BALB/cJ mice and reciprocal F1 hybrids took intermediate positions between the two parental strains for all phenotypes examined, with the exception of IE, where complete dominance was found in (CXB)F1 females. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that some of the genes affecting TH activity in brain dopamine systems contribute to the expression of dopamine mediated behaviors. Our analysis also indicates the possibility that the maternal effects on TH activity in CS and SN are the consequences of X-chromosome linked gene effects. We suggest that the influence of the X-chromosome linked gene(s) is dependent upon the action of gonadal steroids during the critical period of ontogenesis, and X-chromosome linked gene(s) play a major role in the genotype dependent expression of sexual dimorphism in TH activity.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Interleukin-2 potentiates novelty- and GBR 12909-induced exploratory activity.

Interleukin (IL)-2 is a cytokine that influences exploratory behavior and central dopamine activity in rodents, and induces schizophrenic-like behavior and cognitive deficits in humans. We presently report that a single i.p. injection of murine IL-2 (0.05-0.80 microg/mouse) induced significant increases in novelty-induced locomotion and exploration in BALB/c mice. These measures were not significantly altered in mice that were pre-exposed to the test cage prior to cytokine injection. The IL-2-induced behavioral changes were not further augmented by repeated intermittent injections (five daily i.p. injections; 0.4 microg/mouse), however. Nonetheless, during the treatment period, activity scores of IL-2-treated mice significantly exceeded those of mice receiving saline; hence, repeated injections of IL-2 induced a persistent behavioral activation. IL-2 treatment also increased sensitivity to the behavior-stimulating effects of GBR 12909, a highly selective dopamine uptake inhibitor. This effect was a very long-lasting one since the dopamine agonist was administered 6 weeks after cessation of IL-2 treatment. The latter finding indicates that IL-2 interacts with the mesolimbic dopamine system, changing its sensitivity to seemingly different substances. Based on these data, and those of Zalcman and colleagues (S. Zalcman, I. Savina, R.A. Wise, Interleukin-6 increases sensitivity to the locomotor-stimulating effects of amphetamine in rats, Brain Res. 847 (1999) 276-283), it is suggested that cytokines can influence the development of behavioral abnormalities that are characteristic of aberrant mesolimbic dopamine activity via sensitization-like processes.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Increased anxiety behavior in OLETF rats without cholecystokinin-A receptor.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) may have a role in the mediation of human panic disorder and anxiogenic (anxiolytic)-like activity in an animal model of anxiety. Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats lacked CCK A receptors (CCKAR) because of a genetic abnormality. In order to elucidate the involvement of CCKAR in the regulation of anxiety, we investigated the exploratory behavior on elevated plus-maze test, the black and white box test, and open field test with OLETF rats in comparison with normal [Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO)] rats. And OLETF rats increased the number of stretched attend postures and decreased open arm entry and the % time of open arm in an elevated plus-maze test. Time spent in the white box decreased significantly in OLETF rats than LETO rats. The total line crossing decreased significantly in OLETF rats compared to LETO rats. The missing CCKAR had a significant anxiogenic-like effect. These data support the involvement of the CCKAR in the neurobiological mechanism of anxiety.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II contributes to spinal cord central sensitization.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) is found throughout the CNS. It regulates calcium signaling in synaptic transmission by phosphorylating various proteins, including neuronal membrane receptors and intracellular transcription factors. Inflammation or injuries to peripheral tissues cause long-lasting increases in the responses of central nociceptive neurons to innocuous and noxious stimuli. This change can occur independently of alterations in the responsiveness of primary afferent neurons and has been termed central sensitization. Central sensitization is a form of activity-dependent plasticity and results from interactions in a set of intracellular signaling pathways, which modulate nociceptive transmission. Here we demonstrate an increased expression and phosphorylation of CaMK II in rat spinal dorsal horn neurons after noxious stimulation by intradermal injection of capsaicin. Local administration of a CaMK II inhibitor in the spinal cord significantly inhibits the enhancement of responses of spinal nociceptive neurons and changes in exploratory behavior evoked by capsaicin injection. In addition, spinal CaMK II activity enhances phosphorylation of AMPA receptor GluR1 subunits during central sensitization produced by capsaicin injection. This study reveals that CaMK II contributes to central sensitization in a manner similar to its role in the processes underlying long-term potentiation.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

The EthoVision video tracking system--a tool for behavioral phenotyping of transgenic mice.

Video tracking systems enable behavior to be studied in a reliable and consistent way, and over longer time periods than if they are manually recorded. The system takes an analog video signal, digitizes each frame, and analyses the resultant pixels to determine the location of the tracked animals (as well as other data). Calculations are performed on a series of frames to derive a set of quantitative descriptors of the animal's movement. EthoVision (from Noldus Information Technology) is a specific example of such a system, and its functionality that is particularly relevant to transgenic mice studies is described. Key practical aspects of using the EthoVision system are also outlined, including tips about lighting, marking animals, the arena size, and sample rate. Four case studies are presented, illustrating various aspects of the system: (1) The effects of disabling the Munc 18-1 gene were clearly shown using the straightforward measure of how long the mice took to enter a zone in an open field. (2) Differences in exploratory behavior between short and long attack latency mice strains were quantified by measuring the time spent in inner and outer zones of an open field. (3) Mice with hypomorphic CREB alleles were shown to perform less well in a water maze, but this was only clear when a range of different variables were calculated from their tracks. (4) Mice with the trkB receptor knocked out in the forebrain also performed poorly in a water maze, and it was immediately apparent from examining plots of the tracks that this was due to thigmotaxis. Some of the latest technological developments and possible future directions for video tracking systems are briefly discussed.

Activating Transcription Factor 1↗

PubMed2004

Ironing iron out in Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases with iron chelators: a lesson from 6-hydroxydopamine and iron chelators, desferal and VK-28.

In Parkinson's disease (PD) and its neurotoxin-induced models, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), significant accumulation of iron occurs in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The iron is thought to be in a labile pool, unbound to ferritin, and is thought to have a pivotal role to induce oxidative stress-dependent neurodegeneration of dopamine neurons via Fenton chemistry. The consequence of this is its interaction with H(2)O(2) to generate the most reactive radical oxygen species, the hydroxyl radical. This scenario is supported by studies in both human and neurotoxin-induced parkinsonism showing that disposition of H(2)O(2) is compromised via depletion of glutathione (GSH), the rate-limiting cofactor of glutathione peroxide, the major enzyme source to dispose H(2)O(2) as water in the brain. Further, radical scavengers have been shown to prevent the neurotoxic action of the above neurotoxins and depletion of GSH. However, our group was the first to demonstrate that the prototype iron chelator, desferal, is a potent neuroprotective agent in the 6-OHDA model. We have extended these studies and examined the neuroprotective effect of intracerebraventricular (ICV) pretreatment with the prototype iron chelator, desferal (1.3, 13, 134 mg), on ICV induced 6-OHDA (250 micro g) lesion of striatal dopamine neurons. Desferal alone at the doses studied did not affect striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity or dopamine (DA) metabolism. All three pretreatment (30 min) doses of desferal prevented the fall in striatal and frontal cortex DA, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and homovalinic acid, as well as the left and right striatum TH activity and DA turnover resulting from 6-OHDA lesion of dopaminergic neurons. A concentration bell-shaped neuroprotective effect of desferal was observed in the striatum, with 13 micro g being the most effective. Neither desferal nor 6-OHDA affected striatal serotonin, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, or noradrenaline. Desferal also protected against 6-OHDA-induced deficit in locomotor activity, rearing, and exploratory behavior (sniffing) in a novel environment. Since the lowest neuroprotective dose (1.3 micro g) of desferal was 200 times less than 6-OHDA, its neuroprotective activity may not be attributed to interference with the neurotoxin activity, but rather iron chelation. These studies led us to develop novel brain-permeable iron chelators, the VK-28 series, with iron chelating and neuroprotective activity similar to desferal for ironing iron out from PD and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Friedreich's ataxia, and Huntington's disease.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

PubMed1997

Ketogenic diet: effects on expression of kindled seizures and behavior in adult rats.

PURPOSE: Despite use of the ketogenic diet (KD) for >75 years its effectiveness or mechanism of action has been examined in few animal studies. Using the kindling model of epilepsy, we tested the anticonvulsant effectiveness and behavioral consequences of an experimental KD in adult rats. METHODS: Rats fully kindled from the amygdala were divided into KD-fed or standard rat diet-fed groups; diet treatment continued for 5 weeks. The KD approximated at 4:1 ("classic") ketogenic diet and consisted (by weight) of 70% fat, 14% protein, no carbohydrate, and appropriate vitamins, minerals and fiber; 92% of energy provided was contributed by fat and 8% was contributed by protein. Afterdischarge threshold and duration (ADT, ADD) and stage 5 seizure threshold and duration (ST, SD) were assessed weekly for 5 weeks. During week 3, learning and memory were tested by the water maze and the behavioral response to a novel environment was assessed by the open field test. RESULTS: Rats receiving the KD became ketonemic and had weight gains similar to those of control rats. As compared with rats receiving a standard diet, those fed the KD had an elevated ADT and ST for the first 2 weeks of treatment. The control and KD-fed groups did not differ with regard to ADD or SD at any time during the study, and both groups performed similarly in the water maze and open field test. CONCLUSIONS: In the kindling model, the KD afforded transient protection against the focal generation of kindled seizures but not seizure spread. Rats that received the KD did not perform differently from control-fed rats on spatial learning or exploratory behavior tasks. Our results provide a promising model for study of the anticonvulsant mechanisms of ketosis.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Associations between behavior, hormones, and Fos responses to novelty differ in pre- and post-pubertal grass rats.

As animals progress from one developmental stage to the next, the nature of the challenges they face can change in systematic ways, as do the mechanisms that enable them to deal effectively with them. Here we examined the changes in the behavioral patterns and neuroendocrine mechanisms associated with exposure to a novel environment before and after the transition from a pre- to a post-pubertal stage of development in the unstriped Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), a murid rodent that appears to live in family groups in the wild. We introduced juvenile (28 days old) and adult (60 days old) grass rats to a novel glass aquarium where they were kept for 1 h; controls were maintained in their home cages during this time. Animals were then killed, blood was sampled, and plasma corticosterone and testosterone were measured. Brains were collected and processed for immunohistochemical detection of Fos. Although behavior in the novel environment did not differ as a function of age, corticosterone secretion and Fos expression in a variety of stress-related brain regions were increased by the manipulation to a greater extent in the juveniles compared to the adults. The data suggest a pattern of development in which a novel environment that elicits the same levels of exploratory behaviors in young and adult animals triggers a greater response in stress-related brain regions as well as corticosterone secretion in the more vulnerable young ones.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

GSA: behavioral, histological, electrophysiological and neurochemical effects.

Renal insufficient patients suffer from a variety of complications as direct and indirect consequence of accumulation of retention solutes. Guanidinosuccinic acid (GSA) is an important probable uremic toxin, increased in plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and brain of patients with uremia and supposed to play a role in the pathogenesis of some neurological symptoms. GSA, an NMDA-receptor agonist and GABA-receptor antagonist, is suggested to act as an excitotoxin and shown to be convulsive. The effect of hippocampal (i.h.) GSA injection on behavior and hippocampal volume in mice is presented here. In addition, hippocampal cGMP concentration after systemic injection of GSA was measured. The effect of co-application of NMDA-receptor antagonist CGP37849 with GSA was tested, in vivo, after hippocampal GSA injection and, in vitro, on GSA evoked currents in spinal cord neurons. A significant dose-dependent effect of i.h. injection of GSA on cognitive performance, activity and social exploratory behavior was observed. There was a protective effect of CGP37849 on GSA induced behavioral alterations. Volume of hippocampal cornu ammonis region decreased significantly and dose-dependently after GSA injection. Systemic GSA injection increased cGMP concentration in hippocampal formation. It can be concluded that GSA is an important neurotoxin. As GSA is increased in patients with uremia, it probably contributes to their neurological symptoms. Knowledge of neurotoxic effects and mechanisms of action of GSA and other uremic retention solutes could help in the development of more efficient treatment of uremic patients. Animal models like the 'GSA mouse model' are useful tools for research in this context.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗

PubMed2004

The herbal prescription youkongdan modulates rodent memory, ischemic damage and cortical mRNA gene expression.

The effects of the herbal prescription youkongdan (YKD) on memory performance of rodents following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and scopolamine administration were measured and compared to the age-related changes in mRNA expression induced by dietary supplementation of YKD. Following ischemia, YKD decreased neuronal cell loss in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus by 89% relative to controls. YKD improved the water maze performance of both ischemic and scopolamine-treated animals. Dietary administration of YKD resulted in significant modulation of Egr1, Grp78, Hsp86, SOD1, and alphaB crystallin mRNA expression and a trend toward increased exploratory behavior in older mice.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1986

Cholinergic blockade effects on spatial integration versus cue discrimination performance.

A within-subjects investigation was conducted to determine the effects of central versus peripheral cholinergic blockade in animals tested either on a spatial integration task in which the possibility of rule learning was also available or on a visual discrimination task in which the daily location of food was marked by a distinctive visual stimulus pattern. All testing was conducted on the Maier three-table apparatus. It was found that the only effect of the peripheral cholinergic blockade on the performance of either task group was to produce a decrease in exploratory behavior. In contrast, central cholinergic blockade markedly impaired spatial integration performance; however, it did not impair the ability of animals in rule learning or visual discrimination learning. It was also found that central cholinergic blockade impaired the animal's tendency to enter all tables before reentering a given table during the exploratory phase of the daily session. This finding was interpreted as reflecting an impairment of working memory for spatial information, rather than a general impairment in working memory, and this interpretation was applied to the explanation of the deficit in the spatial integration performance.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

The influence of stimulus deviance on electrophysiologic and behavioral responses to novel events.

This study investigated the role of stimulus deviance in determining electrophysiologic and behavioral responses to "novelty." Stimulus deviance was defined in terms of differences either from the immediately preceding context or from long-term experience. Subjects participated in a visual event-related potential (ERP) experiment, in which they controlled the duration of stimulus viewing with a button press, which served as a measure of exploratory behavior. Each of the three experimental conditions included a frequent repetitive background stimulus and infrequent stimuli that deviated from the background stimulus. In one condition, both background and deviant stimuli were simple, easily recognizable geometric figures. In another condition, both background and deviant stimuli were unusual/unfamiliar figures, and in a third condition, the background stimulus was a highly unusual figure, and the deviant stimuli were simple, geometric shapes. Deviant stimuli elicited larger N2-P3 amplitudes and longer viewing durations than the repetitive background stimulus, even when the deviant stimuli were simple, familiar shapes and the background stimulus was a highly unusual figure. Compared to simple, familiar deviant stimuli, unusual deviant stimuli elicited larger N2-P3 amplitudes and longer viewing times. Within subjects, the deviant stimuli that evoked the largest N2-P3 responses also elicited the longest viewing durations. We conclude that deviance from both immediate context and long-term prior experience contribute to the response to novelty, with the combination generating the largest N2-P3 amplitude and the most sustained attention. The amplitude of the N2-P3 may reflect how much "uncertainty" is evoked by a novel visual stimulus and signal the need for further exploration and cognitive processing.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Spike sequences and their consequences.

Spatio-temporal patterns of spikes have an advantage of representing information by their spike composition similar to words of languages. First we review the models of neuronal coding, then we discuss technical aspects of detecting spatio-temporal spike patterns. We argue by presenting data from rat hippocampus that spike trains recorded simultaneously from multiple pyramidal cells are not independent. Their hidden dependency structure can be revealed by spike 'sequences', defined as a set of neurons which fire in a specific temporal order with certain delay between successive spikes. The only way to prove their existence in vivo is to show that they recur with higher than by-chance frequency. We observed that 'sequences' possess 'compositional' features and that a given spike composition is time scale invariant. We illustrate that the same neuron can be a part of different 'sequences' and 'sequences' recur in a temporally compressed fashion during slow wave sleep. The statistical significance of 'sequences' is testable. Their biological significance has been implicated by experiments where recurrence rate of the sequences during different behavioral sessions were compared. As consistent with the 'replay hypothesis' of memory consolidation, new sequences generated during the wake state are persistent during the subsequent sleep. Thus, information acquired during the wake state and represented by spatio-temporal patterns of spikes may transfer to the neocortex during sleep. Our results suggest that 'sequences' reflect the activation of specific but configurable circuitries during exploratory behavior, followed by spontaneous re-activation of the same circuitry during sleep. Whether the delay structure of spikes as a combination is an effective input to single neurons downstream or 'sequence' components are being processed in parallel pathways and evaluated independently is an open question.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1996

Gestational cocaine and ethanol exposure alter spontaneous and cocaine-induced behavior in weanling rats.

The developmental and behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine and/or ethanol were examined in rats. Pregnant rats received ethanol (E; 2 g/kg, b.i.d.) orally, cocaine (C; 6 mg/kg/day, IV), or both (C/E) on gestational days 8-20. Controls consisted of pair-fed (PF) and untreated (UNT) groups. Offspring were weighed and examined for developmental markers beginning postnatal day one (PD1). On PD21 pups were individually observed in an open-field following either an injection of cocaine (10 mg/kg, IP), an injection of saline, or no treatment. Drug-treated and PF dams ate less food and gained less weight than the UNT dams. C and E litters had slightly increased mortality rates. Pups from both the C and E groups appeared less sensitive to the locomotor stimulant effect of cocaine. Pups from the E group engaged in significantly less spontaneous stereotypic locomotion than UNT and PF pups, while male pups from the C group exhibited a decrease in spontaneous exploratory behavior. Thus, prenatal exposure to C or E altered spontaneous and/or cocaine-induced behavior in weanling-aged rats, while the C/E combination did not augment either effect.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Comparison of long-term enhancement and short-term exploratory modulation of perforant path synaptic transmission.

Long-term enhancement (LTE/LTP) is an artificially induced form of synaptic change that may underlie memory storage in the hippocampus; however, there is as yet no evidence that this process occurs naturally as a result of normal neural activity. In the dentate gyrus, synaptic change does occur in conjunction with an animal's recent history of exploratory behavior. This change, which persists for a short time (ca. 30 min) following cessation of exploration, has been called short-term exploratory modulation (STEM). This experiment examined the relationship between LTE and STEM by comparing the magnitude of STEM before and after induction of LTE in rats with chronically implanted stimulating electrodes in the perforant path and recording electrodes in the fascia dentata. The absolute magnitude of STEM was the same before and after LTE saturation, suggesting that the processes are independent of each other. Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative analyses of the types of changes seen in the evoked-potential waveforms reveal different types of alteration. LTE includes an increase in EPSP slope, whereas STEM reflects an increase in EPSP onset. These data suggest that it is unlikely that STEM and LTE reflect the same synaptic process, and are at least partly consistent with recent reports suggesting that STEM may be mediated by activity-dependent changes in brain temperature.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Dose-specific effects of scopolamine on canine cognition: impairment of visuospatial memory, but not visuospatial discrimination.

RATIONALE: The cholinergic system is linked extensively to memory, but its exact role remains controversial. In particular, scopolamine-induced impairment in rodents is not task specific, which may be due to difficulty in developing rodent protocols to assess deficits in recent memory, in which the remembered event is brief and distinct, and/or to non-specific behavioral impairment. OBJECTIVES: The present study sought to determine whether scopolamine-induced deficits in recent memory, using a working memory task, could be dose-specifically dissociated from deficits in associative memory in dogs. METHODS: A Latin-square design was used to determine the effect of scopolamine (5, 10 and 15 microg/kg; SC) on a variable delayed-non-matching-to-position (DNMP) task, which assesses visuospatial working memory. Subsequently, the minimal effective dose (15 microg/kg; SC) was administered prior to testing on a landmark discrimination task, which provides a measure of allocentric spatial ability, a black-white discrimination task, an oddity discrimination task and tests of exploratory behavior. We also investigated the effects of a 30 microg/kg dose (SC) on tests of oddity discrimination and behavioral activity. RESULTS: A 15 microg/kg dose produced significant impairment on the DNMP task, but did not affect performance of any discrimination task and did not alter behavior on tests of open field or curiosity. A 30 microg/kg dose caused disruption on discrimination performance and on open field measures. CONCLUSIONS: Working memory performance is most sensitive to scopolamine-induced impairment and can be dissociated from scopolamine-induced deficits in discrimination performance and non-cognitive behaviors. The present results indicate that scopolamine-induced impairments of working memory in the dog can serve as a model of age-related cholinergic dysfunction.

Aging↗

PubMed2000

On the role of inhibitory glutamate receptors in N-methyl-D-aspartate- and dopamine-receptor mediated motor behavior of rats.

The physiological function of inhibitory group II metabotropic glutamate-receptors, a family of second messenger coupled glutamate-receptors, for motor behavior is almost unknown. The aim of this study is to address this topic by quantifying motor effects of the preferential group II agonist (2S,3S,4S)-alpha-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine, administered i.c.v. (62.5, 125.0, 187.5, 250.0, 500.0nmol/4microl), in an open-field equipped with a hole-board. (2S,3S,4S)-alpha-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine decreased spontaneous locomotor and exploratory behavior, which was blocked be the group II antagonist (2S)-alpha-ethylglutamic acid (250.0nmol/4microl). Locomotion induced by the N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor antagonist dizocilpine (0.08, 0.16, 0.32mg/kg) was counteracted by the group II agonist (2S,3S,4S)-alpha-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine, but an antagonism towards dizocilpine did not occur in all aspects of motor behavior evaluated. In contrast to the antagonism of dizocilpine induced locomotion, D,L-amphetamine (1.0, 2.0, 3.0mg/kg) induced locomotion was not antagonised by (2S,3S,4S)-alpha-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine.The results suggest that group II agonists may be devoid of psychotomimetic effects in humans and even may antagonise this side effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists. Since group II activation and N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor blockade very efficiently protects against excitotoxic neurodegeneration, selective group II agonists may allow novel pharmacotherapeutical approaches in pathophysiological conditions characterised by a glutamatergic hyperactivity, like epilepsy, ischemia and trauma.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

'Anxiolytic' effect of CCK-antagonists on plus-maze behavior in mice.

The effects of systemic treatment with the CCK-B receptor antagonist L-365,260, its 3S-(-) enantiomer and the CCK-A receptor antagonist devazepide were assessed in the plus-maze procedure in mice. L-365,260 (1-1000 micrograms.kg-1 i.p.) produced a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of entries into, and the percentage of time spent in the open arms. Total arm entry was not consistently modified. Neither the 3S-(-) enantiomer of L-365,260 nor devazepide (both administered at 100-10,000 micrograms.kg-1) enhanced the exploratory behavior of mice. These results suggest that CCK-B, rather than CCK-A antagonists may possess 'anxiolytic' properties in mice.

Animals↗