title: Dopamine D1 receptor modulation of set shifting:  the role of stress exposure.
abstract: Chronic stress exerts detrimental effects on higher order executive functions that are governed by the prefrontal cortex. Experimental data suggest that dopamine D1 receptor-mediated hypodopaminergic dysfunction may underlie stress-induced cognitive deficits. However, although the involvement of D1 receptors in working memory is well established, less is known about their role in the modulation of set-shifting ability. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the impact of the selective D1 receptor agonist, SKF 81297, on the attentional set-shifting task performance of rats subjected to repeated restraint stress and of unrestrained controls. The acute administration of SKF 81297 to control rats facilitated extradimensional set-shifting. However, only intermediate doses (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) were effective, whereas no effect was observed after the administration of either lower (0.01 mg/kg) or higher (1 mg/kg) doses. This dose-response curve was shifted to the left in stressed animals as the effectiveness of SKF 81297 (as compared with either vehicle-treated controls or stressed animals) was found only after the administration of lower drug doses (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg). The beneficial effects of SKF 81297 on the attentional set-shifting task performance of stressed rats may have therapeutic implications for the treatment of frontal-like disturbances, particularly cognitive inflexibility, in stress-related psychiatric disorders.
authors: Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland. nikifor@if-pan.krakow.pl
authors: Agnieszka
authors: A
authors: Nikiforuk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000819:agonists* / Q000378:metabolism; D012718:Set, Psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D001552:Benzazepines; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; C067113:SK&F 81297