Pergolide interactions with nicotine and pilocarpine in rats on the radial-arm maze.
Antagonists of nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholinergic (ACh) receptors have significant interactions with dopaminergic (DA) ligands with regard to radial-arm maze choice accuracy. The current studies examined the interactions of agonists of nicotinic and muscarinic ACh receptors with the DA agonist pergolide. Pergolide given in a range from 0.03-1.0 mg/kg had no detectable effect on radial-arm maze choice accuracy when given alone. With this dose range there was a linear increase in response latency. Pergolide had significant interactive effects with the nicotinic and muscarinic agonists nicotine and pilocarpine. Given together with nicotine, pergolide produced a significantly elevated linear increase in accuracy relative to when it was given alone. With pilocarpine, pergolide had an inverted U-shaped effect improving choice accuracy at low to moderate doses of 0.03 and 0.1 mg/kg. These results support previous findings of DA-ACh interactions with regard to radial-arm maze choice accuracy. Combined DA-ACh treatment may be a useful treatment of cognitive dysfunction.
Levin
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Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010479:Pergolide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010862:Pilocarpine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D010862:Pilocarpine; D010479:Pergolide; D009538:Nicotine