title: Specific and non-specific effects of neuro-excitatory amino acids on learning and other behaviours in the chicken.
abstract: Intracranial administration of glutamate to the chicken in the first week of life subsequently retards visual discrimination learning. After this susceptible period in the first week, the brain can more effectively metabolize or extrude a loading dose of glutamate. The potent glutamate and aspartate agonists, kainic acid and N-methylaspartate, also retard learning, but alpha-methylaspartate, which is electrophysiologically inactive, does not. Kainic acid also shares glutamate's requirement for interaction with patterned visual input if it is to retard visual learning. Since the amino acid putative neurotransmitters, gamma-aminobutyric acid, taurine and aspartate, also retard visual learning, this effect on behaviour is non-specific. In contrast, glutamate administered to the left hemisphere has a specific effect in elevating attack and copulation, mimicked only by kainic acid and very high doses of N-methylaspartate, but not by the other amino acid putative neurotransmitters. This action of glutamate also differs from its retardation of learning in that is has no requirement for interaction with patterned visual input.
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002645:Chickens; D003307:Copulation; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D007608:Kainic Acid