title: The acute effects of 3-nitropropionic acid on the behavior and spontaneous cortical electrical activity of rats.
abstract: In this study, the acute effect of 3-nitropropionic acid was investigated on open field and startle behavior of rats, and on their cortical electrical activity. Spontaneous locomotor activity, acoustic startle response, and pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle were measured in male Wistar rats (10 weeks old, 180-200 g body weight) after a single dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg i.p. 3-nitropropionic acid. After the behavioral tests, the rats were anaesthetized, and spontaneous cortical electrical activity was recorded. The vertical, horizontal and local open field performance showed dose-dependent deterioration in the rats treated with 3-nitropropionic acid. The number of "noise-positive" startle responses showed non-significant changes, but the inhibition by pre-pulse was significantly reduced in the high dose animals. High dose also increased the proportion of low-frequencies in the cortical activity. 3-nitropropionic acid, known primarily to act in repeated doses (e.g., in animal models of Huntington's disease) had also some clear-cut acute effects on behavioral and electrophysiological parameters of the treated rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine, Dóm tér 10., H-6720 Szeged, Hungary. lukacsa@puhe.szote.u-szeged.hu.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lukács
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.forename: Tünde
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vezér
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papp
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D003292:Convulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011422:Propionates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D003292:Convulsants; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D011422:Propionates; C015392:3-nitropropionic acid