Bromocriptine promotes recovery of self-stimulation in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats.
Rats with stable self-stimulation response rate-current intensity functions were subjected to bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine injections into the substantia nigra. The effect of several drug treatments were evaluated on the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion self-stimulation deficit. d-Amphetamine (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/kg) and scopolamine (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg) had little or no effect on self-stimulation, but bromocriptine (2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg) produced a nearly complete recovery of self-stimulation performance. In contrast, scopolamine increased locomotor activity: whereas, bromocriptine did not increase activity. These results point up the efficacy of bromocriptine in reversing self-stimulation deficits induced by a dopamine deficiency, and indicate that self-stimulation may be a more useful behavior than locomotor activity for evaluating drugs which might alleviate Parkinsonism.
D000818:Animals; D001971:Bromocriptine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006892:Hydroxydopamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D016627:Oxidopamine; D051381:Rats; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012653:Self Stimulation / Q000187:drug effects*
D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D001971:Bromocriptine; D016627:Oxidopamine; D012601:Scopolamine; D003913:Dextroamphetamine; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine