Anxiolytic activity on locus coeruleus-mediated suppression of muricidal aggression.
The evidence suggests that stimulation of brain noradrenergic neurons plays an inhibitory role in rat mouse-killing (muricidal) aggression. Anxiolytic benzodiazepines inhibit locus coeruleus activity and previous data showed that chlordiazepoxide was capable of antagonizing the locus coeruleus-mediated suppression of muricidal aggression. The present experiments showed that this effect is common to new anxiolytic triazolobenzodiazepines and to other non-benzodiazepine derivatives with anxiolytic activity. In this framework, 10 mg/kg of buspirone, of 1-pyrimidine-piperazine and of MJ-13805 proved to be as active as 2.5 mg/kg of alprazolam and as 5 mg/kg of chlordiazepoxide in inhibiting the locus coeruleus-mediated suppression of muricidal aggression.
D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D006801:Humans; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000187:drug effects
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D001569:Benzodiazepines