title: Studies on bombesin-induced grooming in rats.
abstract: The gross behavior induced by centrally administered bombesin in rats was compared to that elicited by ACTH-(1-24) and the somatostatin analog, des AA1,2,4,5,12,13[D-Trp8]-somatostatin (ODT8-SS). Bombesin (0.001-1 microgram, ICV) caused dose-related excessive scratching which was qualitatively different from that associated with the other two groom-inducing agents. Bombesin-induced grooming was not markedly affected by behaviorally nondepressant doses of haloperidol, morphine, naloxone or neurotensin. Bombesin was active in genetically hypotrichotic (essentially furless) rats; and, again in such animals, even after numbing the area caudal to the shoulders with lidocaine. Tolerance and cross-tolerance studies with bombesin and ODT8-SS indicated that they produce scratching through different mechanisms. Bombesin caused scratching when injected directly into the periaqueductal gray, but not when administered intravenously. Neither hypophysectomy nor adrenalectomy markedly affected bombesin-induced grooming. This behavior appears to be initiated in the central nervous system and is produced independently of the pituitary-adrenal axis.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001839:Bombesin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003366:Cosyntropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006120:Grooming / Q000187:drug effects*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology; D010455:Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010455:Peptides; D003366:Cosyntropin; D013004:Somatostatin; C017583:somatostatin, octapeptide-Trp(8)-; D001839:Bombesin