Age-related changes in locomotor behavior induced by MPTP in rats.
Effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on gait was studied in young (4 weeks) and old (21 months) male rats. No significant alteration in stride length (SL) or stride width (SW) was observed 30 min after single dose MPTP treatment (3 mg/kg, i.p.) in both young and old rats. Multidose treatment with MPTP (3 mg/kg, i.p. daily for 8 days) resulted in a marked decrease in SL in old rats compared to that of old control group, while an increase in SL was found in both MPTP-treated and control young rats. In contrast, multidose MPTP administration caused no changes in SW in either young or old rats. The present result of behavioral analysis suggests that multidose MPTP neurotoxic effect on locomotor activity may be age dependent in rats and that the old rat is an appropriate model for MPTP studies.
Department of Physiology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Y F
YF
Tsai
H W
HW
Tsai
M Y
MY
Tai
K S
KS
Lu
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005684:Gait / Q000187:drug effects; D020267:MPTP Poisoning; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats