title: Role of the medial prefrontal cortex in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist induced sensorimotor gating deficit in rats.
abstract: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regulates sensorimotor gating measured as prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle. We here tested the effect of lesions of the mPFC on the PPI-disruptive effect of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist dizocilpine in rats. Neurotoxic lesions of the mPFC were induced by ibotenic acid. Rats were tested for PPI after systemic injection of dizocilpine (0.15 mg/kg) and after injection of the dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine (2 mg/kg). Dizocilpine failed to disrupt PPI in rats with mPFC lesions while the PPI-disruptive effect of apomorphine was not affected. Startle response magnitude in the absence of prepulses was not affected by mPFC lesions or drugs. These data suggest that the mPFC is an important brain region within the neuronal circuit responsible for NMDA receptor antagonist induced PPI-deficits.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, University of Bremen, FB2, P.O. Box 33 04 40, 28 334 Bremen, Germany. kschwabe@uni-bremen.de
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schwabe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003714:Denervation; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007051:Ibotenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D007051:Ibotenic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D001058:Apomorphine