1,721,065 research outputs found
Failure by tricyclic antidepressants to affect the increase of dopamine extracellular concentrations produced by haloperidol in the caudate and accumbens nuclei of rats
Role of free serum tryptophan on brain tryptophan concentration after oral glucose administration
Differential effect of mu, delta, and kappa opioid agonists on adenylate cyclase activity
D-Ala2, D-Leu5-enkephalin (DADLE) and dynorphin1-13 (Dyn1-13) inhibited striatal adenylate cyclase activity, both basal and dopamine-stimulated (DA), in rats and guinea pigs. The kappa-agonists bremazocine (BRZ), U-50,488 (trans-3,4-dicloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]- benzeneacetamide), and U-69,593 (5 alpha, 7 alpha 8 beta)-(-)-N-methyl-N-(7-(1-pyrrolidinyl-1-oxaspiro (4.5)dec-8yl) benzeneacetamide inhibited only the basal adenylate cyclase activity, and such an effect was restricted to guinea pig striatum, an area known to contain a high density of kappa-binding sites. Moreover, BRZ was found to antagonize the inhibitory effect of both DADLE and Dyn1-13 in rat striatum
Study of mirtazapine antidepressant effects in rats
Mirtazapine is a widely used antidepressant and the aim of this study was to further investigate its antidepressant activity in rats. Thus, the efficacy of long-term mirtazapine treatment was assessed in three models of depressive symptoms induced by stress exposure: the acute escape deficit, the chronic escape deficit, and the stress-induced disruption of the acquisition of an appetitive behavior sustained by a palatable food (vanilla sugar). Administration of mirtazapine for 2 weeks prevented the escape deficit development induced by acute exposure to unavoidable stress. This protective effect was antagonized by the administration of a β-adrenergic or a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist just before stress exposure; that is, mirtazapine effect was dependent on functional β-adrenergic and 5-HT1A receptor systems. Repeated stress exposure indefinitely prolongs the condition of escape deficit and a 40-day mirtazapine treatment reversed this model of chronic escape deficit. Satiated rats learn to choose in a Y-maze the arm baited with vanilla sugar, and exposure to stress during Y-maze training prevents this learning. Repeated mirtazapine administration completely antagonized the disrupting effect of chronic stress on the acquisition of this instrumental behavior. We consider these effects to be crucial in the definition of antidepressant activity
Lack of copulatory behavior in male castrated rats after p-chlorophenilalanine
1 The effect of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) on the copulatory behaviour of normal and castrated male rats with females in oestrus was studied.2 Castration 2 months before the experiment completely prevented the increased copulatory behaviour produced by PCPA in normal rats.3 The administration of testosterone restored the copulatory behaviour in the castrated rats indicating that testosterone is essential for this behaviour
Opioid activity of lefetamine
In mice lefetamine, at the dose of 50 mg/kg produces motor hyperactivity and at the dose of 60 mg/kg produces analgesia. Both effects are abolished by naloxone. Displacement studies by using [3H]-Naloxone (Nx), [3H]-D-Ala-Met-Enkephalinamide (DAMA) and [3H]-Ethylketocyclazocine (EKC) showed that lefetamine competes with all these opiates with an affinity 50 times lower than that of morphine. The displacing capacity of lefetamine is decreased in the presence of 50 mM Na+. It is concluded that lefetamine is an opioid agonist
Failure by tricyclic antidepressants to affect the increase of dopamine extracellular concentrations produced by haloperidol in the caudate and accumbens nuclei of rats
The effect of different inhibitors of monoamine uptake on dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) neuronal outflow was studied in the caudate and accumbens nuclei of rats, using the in vivo brain microdialysis method coupled to HPLC electrochemical detection. Under conditions of DA receptor blockade (as produced by the i.p. administration of 0.25 mg/kg of haloperidol), cocaine, GBR-12909 and d-amphetamine increased the concentration of extracellular DA beyond the effect produced by haloperidol alone in both areas studied. GBR-12909 and cocaine also increased DOPAC concentration, while d-amphetamine decreased it. On the contrary, the tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), desipramine and chloripramine, failed to modify the effect of haloperidol on DA and DOPAC neuronal outflow. It was concluded that: (a) nonadrenergic and serotonergic nerve terminals do not take up DA released from dopaminergic neurons, and (b) TCA have no effect on dopaminergic terminals
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