Comparative study of the roles of ACTH and beta-endorphin in regulating conditioned reflex activity in the hedgehog.
Data on the relative effects of the neurohormone ACTH1-39 and the opioid peptide beta-endorphin on conditioned reflex activity in the hedgehog are presented. It was demonstrated that administration of ACTH (30-50 micrograms/kg s.c.) led to facilitation of learning and strengthening of memory processes (conditioned reflex traces). ACTH promoted strengthening of movement, orientational-investigative, and intersignal activities, produced hyperalgesia, and blocked the effects of naloxone. Administration of beta-endorphin (30-40 micrograms/kg s.c.) lengthened the latent periods of conditioned reflexes, produced a pronounced analgesic effect, and reduced movement and intersignal activities. The effects of beta-endorphin were eliminated by dosage with naloxone. Administration of beta-endorphin blocked the inhibitor effects of stimulation of the limbic cortex; doses of ACTH produced partial release of inhibitory effects. The differences between the effects of ACTH and beta-endorphin on higher nervous activity are discussed, as are the possible mechanisms of these effects.
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Laboratory for Comparative Cerebellar Physiology, I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg.
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000494:pharmacology; D006364:Hedgehogs / Q000502:physiology*; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008032:Limbic System / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000494:pharmacology*
D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine; D001615:beta-Endorphin; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone