title: Dopamine D2 receptors and alpha1-adrenoceptors synergistically modulate locomotion and behavior of rats in a place avoidance task.
abstract: The processing of spatial information is the focus of interest for many cognitive neuroscientists. Approximately 10 years ago, a novel behavioral paradigm called active allothetic place avoidance (AAPA) was designed allowing the simultaneous assessment of locomotor and spatial behavior. The present study describes the effect of the combined treatment of Long-Evans rats with alpha1-adrenergic and D2 antagonists prazosin (1mg/kg and 2 mg/kg) and sulpiride (10 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg) on locomotion and avoidance behavior in the AAPA task. Results show that co-application of both drugs leads to disturbances in locomotion and avoidance in rats at the doses, which caused no impairments when administered independently. This finding suggests that both types of receptors act synergistically to regulate locomotion and possibly spatial behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology of Memory and Computational Neuroscience, Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic. stuchlik@biomed.cas.cz
authors.forename: Ales
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stuchlik
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Petrasek
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vales
mesh_terms: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004777:Environment; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011224:Prazosin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D020239:Receptor Cross-Talk / Q000502:physiology*; D018340:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013469:Sulpiride / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D018340:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D013469:Sulpiride; D011224:Prazosin