A psychopharmacological study of the relationship between brain catalase activity and ethanol-induced locomotor activity in mice.
OBJECTIVE
The present experiments analyze the effects of the brain catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AT) on the locomotor activity induced by ethanol.


METHODS
In the first experiment, mice received injections of either AT (0.5 g/kg) or saline (S) 5 hours prior to an ethanol injection (0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2 or 4 g/kg). In the second experiment, five different groups of mice received injections of AT (0, 0.010, 0.030, 0.060, 0.125, 0.250 or 0.500 g/kg) 5 hours prior to being injected with 1.6 g/kg of ethanol. In the third experiment, six groups of mice were treated with AT (0.5 g/kg), simultaneously, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 hours before the administration of 1.6 g/kg of ethanol. Immediately after ethanol injection, mice were placed individually in the open-field apparatus for 20 minutes. In another set of experiments, the effects of AT on brain catalase activity were studied. Animals were injected with AT at 0, 0.010, 0.030, 0.060, 0.125, 0.250 or 0.500 g/kg, and 5, 10 or 20 hours following AT treatment mice were perfused and the brain was removed.


RESULTS
Pretreating mice with AT reduces ethanol-induced locomotor activity (1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 g/kg) without altering spontaneous locomotion. Pretreatment with AT (from 0.125 g/kg to 0.5 g/kg) produced a clear dose-dependent decrease of ethanol locomotion and brain catalase activity. The effect of AT was observed 5 and 10 hours after the injection of this drug, and it disappeared 20 hours following AT treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Current data showed a parallel property of AT in producing a remarkable dose- and time-dependent decrease in catalase activity and ethanol locomotion.
Escarabajal
D
D
Area de Psicobiologia, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain.
Miquel
M
M
Aragon
C M
CM
D000640:Amitrole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011600:Psychopharmacology
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D000431:Ethanol; D002374:Catalase; D000640:Amitrole