title: Anxiogenic effect of corticotropin-releasing hormone in the dorsal periaqueductal grey.
abstract: To investigate whether the dorsal periaqueductal grey (DPAG) might be involved in the anxiogenic effect of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administered corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), rats (n = 6-13) received microinjections into the DPAG of CRH (1 or 2 microg) or saline and were tested on the elevated plus maze. The drug caused a dose-dependent decrease in plus maze exploration (percentage of entries into open arms: saline 31.9 +/- 8.6, CRH 1 microg 19.2 +/- 4.0, CRH 2 microg 6.9 +/- 3.7; p < 0.01, ANOVA). In a second experiment the anxiogenic effect of intra-DPAG CRH (2 microg) was prevented by previous microinjection of alpha-helical-CRH(9-41) (0.5 microg), a CRH antagonist (percentage of entries into open arms: saline + CRH 20.3 +/- 3.7, alpha-helical-CRH(9-41) + CRH 45.7 +/- 1.6). These results suggest that the DPAG may be a site of the anxiogenic effect of i.c.v. injected CRH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, FMRP, Campus USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Marras
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Guimarães
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006727:Hormone Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008845:Microinjections; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D006727:Hormone Antagonists; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; C045089:corticotropin releasing hormone (9-41)