MK-801 suppresses muricidal behavior but not locomotion in olfactory bulbectomized rats: involvement of NMDA receptors.
In rats, olfactory bulbectomy (OBX) causes changes in glutamatergic function in the amygdala (AMG) and induces mouse-killing behavior (MKB). The medial AMG (mAMG) plays an important role in the initiation and maintenance of OBX-induced MKB. In the present study, systemic injection or intra-mAMG perfusion of (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801) was used to determine the effects of MK-801, a noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, on the expression of OBX-induced MKB in male Wistar rats that had undergone OBX 1 month previously. The effects of MK-801 on locomotion in OBX rats were also examined using the open-field test. Intraperitoneal injection of MK-801 at doses of 0.10 and 0.15 mg/kg resulted in reversible suppression of MKB, the effect being maximal within 1 h after drug treatment, then gradually disappearing over 6 h. Locomotor distance in OBX rats was not affected using 0.10 mg/kg of MK-801, but increased after treatment with 0.15 mg/kg of MK-801; both doses, however, caused the rats to spend longer in the central area of the open field. MKB was also reversibly suppressed by local perfusion of 1 mM MK-801 at a rate of 1 microl/min into the mAMG through microdialysis probes. These results suggest that NMDA receptors, at least, in the mAMG, are involved in the expression of OBX-induced MKB.
Division of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, College of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC.
Ying-Jui
YJ
Ho
Kuang-Ho
KH
Chen
Mei-Yun
MY
Tai
Yuan-Feen
YF
Tsai
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate