title: Behavioural effects of anatoxin, a potent nicotinic agonist, in rats.
abstract: Preliminary behavioural studies with the nicotinic agonist (+)-anatoxin have been carried with procedures sensitive to (-)-nicotine. In experimentally naive rats, (+)-anatoxin decreased locomotor activity; this effect resembled that of (-)-nicotine, but it was not blocked by mecamylamine. In nicotine-tolerant rats, (+)-anatoxin differed from (-)-nicotine because it did not increase locomotion. However, in rats trained to discriminate nicotine from saline in an operant conditioning procedure, (+)-anatoxin produced a partial nicotine-like discriminative stimulus effect that was blocked by mecamylamine, and a decreased rate of responding that was insensitive to mecamylamine. The behavioural profile of (+)-anatoxin differs from that of (-)-nicotine and it can be used for further investigations of CNS nicotinic receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, U.K.
authors.forename: I P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Stolerman
authors.forename: E X
authors.initials: EX
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Garcha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D005731:Ganglionic Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008464:Mecamylamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D052998:Microcystins; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D014326:Tropanes
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D005731:Ganglionic Stimulants; D008387:Marine Toxins; D052998:Microcystins; D014326:Tropanes; D008464:Mecamylamine; D009538:Nicotine; C509783:anatoxin a