title: Age-dependent effects of NGF and scopolamine on suckling behavior of neonatal mice.
abstract: Nerve growth factor (NGF) influences the neurochemical differentiation of central cholinergic neurons of developing rodents. In this study, NGF was given intracerebrally to mice on different postnatal days (days 5 and 7, or days 8 and 10). Pups were tested for suckling behavior 24 h after the second NGF injection, following systemic administration of either the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist scopolamine or saline solution. Scopolamine significantly impaired nipple attachment on day 11 but not on day 8, and decreased locomotor activity in 11-day pups. NGF given on days 5 and 7 increased paddling and treading on day 8, and this effect was more pronounced in scopolamine injected pups. Pretreatment with NGF on days 8 and 10 decreased activity levels in 11-day pups. The differences in the effects of scopolamine at successive ages suggest that distinct portions of the cholinergic system mature at different rates and that sensitivity to NGF is age dependent. NGF appears to influence functional maturation of that portion of the cholinergic system involved in the regulation of locomotor activity.
authors.affiliation: Comparative Psychology Section, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calamandrei
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valanzano
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013391:Sucking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D012601:Scopolamine