Conditioned place aversion produced by microinjections of semicarbazide into the periaqueductal gray of the rat.
Previous studies have shown that the blockade of GABA-ergic neurotransmission in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) of the rat induce flight reactions. The present study examined whether a negative affective state was produced by such a blockade. Microinjections of semicarbazide, a GABA synthesis inhibitor, into the PAG were found to produce a conditioned place aversion. In a second experiment, it was found that the potent GABA agonist muscimol antagonized the effects of semicarbazide, without producing a conditioned place preference or aversion by itself. These results suggest that the blockade of the tonic inhibition exerted by GABAergic terminals in the PAG results in both an aversive experience and an overt flight reaction.
Di Scala
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Département de Neurophysiologie, Centre de Neurochimie du C.N.R.S., Strasbourg, France.
Sandner
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G
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D009118:Muscimol / Q000494:pharmacology; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D012663:Semicarbazides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*
D012663:Semicarbazides; D009118:Muscimol; C010059:carbamylhydrazine; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid