5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine lesions of the amygdala reduce amphetamine- and apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviour in the rat

Reconciling the role of central serotonin neurons in human and animal behavior

Animal research suggests that central serotonergic neurons are involved in behavioral suppression, particularly anxiety-related inhibition. The hypothesis linking decreased serotonin transmission to reduced anxiety as the mechanism in the anxiolytic activity of benzodiazepines conflicts with most clinical observations. Serotonin antagonists show no marked capacity to alleviate anxiety. On the other hand, clinical signs of reduced serotonergic transmission (low 5-HIAA levels in the cerebrospinal fluid) are frequently associated with aggressiveness, suicide attempts, and increased anxiety. The target article attempts to reconcile such human and animal findings by investigating whether anxiety reduction or increased impulsivity is more Likely to account for animal behavioral changes associated with decreased serotonergic transmission. The effects of manipulating central serotonin in experimental anxiety paradigms in animals (punishment, extinction, novelty) are reviewed and compared with the effects of antianxiety drugs. Anxiety seems neither necessary nor sufficient to induce control by serotonergic neurons on behavior. Further evidence suggests that behavioral effects of anxiolytics thought to be mediated by decreases in anxiety are not caused by the ability of these drugs to reduce serotonin transmission. Blockade of serotonin transmission, especially at the level of the substantia nigra, results in a shift of behavior toward facilitation of responding. This behavioral shift is particularly marked when there is competition between acting and restraining response tendencies and when obstacles prevent the immediate attainment of an anticipated reward. It is proposed that serotonergic neurons are involved not only in behavioral arousal but also in enabling the organism to arrange or tolerate delay before acting. Decreases in serotonin transmission seem to be associated with the increased performance of behaviors that are usually suppressed, though not necessarily because of the alleviation of anxiety, which might contribute to the suppression.

Effects of acute and chronic apomorphine on sex behavior and copulation-induced neural activation in the male rat

Apomorphine is a non-selective dopaminergic receptor agonist. Because of its pro-erectile effects, apomorphine is clinically used for treatment of erectile dysfunction. We investigated the effects of subcutaneous apomorphine administration (0.4 mg/kg rat) on sexual behavior and mating-induced Fos-expression following acute (day 1) or chronic apomorphine treatment (days 8 and 15) in sexually experienced male rats. Consistent facilitatory effects of apomorphine were observed in the reduced numbers of mounts and intromissions over time and an increased ejaculation frequency on day 1. The first post-ejaculatory interval, however, was lengthened, while other behavioral parameters were unaffected. Fos-immunoreactivity induced by acute apomorphine administration (barrel cortex, paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, central amygdala and locus coeruleus) was strongly reduced after chronic administration. After mating, induction of Fos-immunoreactivity was observed in well-known areas like medial preoptic nucleus and the posterodorsal medial amygdaloid area. Apomorphine, however, reduced mating-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens shell and prevented its occurrence in its core area. This remarkable apomorphine effect was not observed in any other brain area. We conclude that the behavioral (pro-erectile) effects of apomorphine are consistent over time, and that the diminished accumbens-Fos-immunoreactivity and the elongated post-ejaculatory interval may reflect a decreased response to remote cues from the estrus female.

Effect of inhibiting enkephalin catabolism in the VTA on motor activity and extracellular dopamine

The mixed inhibitor of enkephalin catabolism, kelatorphan, was microinjected into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of rats to determine if endogenous enkephalins can modulate dopamine transmission in the mesoaccumbens projection. The concentration of extracellular dopamine content in the nucleus accumbens was monitored using in vivo microdialysis simultaneously with measuring motor behavior. Kelatorphan microinjection into the VTA produced a dose-related increase in motor activity and extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. While the change in extracellular dopamine was modest as compared to exogenous stimulation by a mu agonist such as DAMGO, there was a marked increase in the extracellular content of dopamine and serotonin metabolites. This suggests that mesoaccumbens dopamine transmission is under tonic control of endogenous enkephalins at the ventral tegmental area level.

Masticatory muscle hyperactivity in temporomandibular disorders: is it an extrapyramidally expressed disorder?

Masticatory muscle hyperactivity appears to have an important role in temporomandibular disorders. A pathophysiological model for masticatory muscle hyperactivity is proposed that is centrally mediated, yet maintains support for present peripheral causes and therapies. In this hypothesis, masticatory muscle hyperactivity represents a mild extrapyramidal disorder distantly related to orofacial dyskinesias. Experimental evidence suggests a neurotransmitter imbalance in the basal ganglia, involving dopaminergic preponderance, or cholinergic and GABA-nergic hypofunction as the underlying cause.

New aspects on the role of dopamine, acetylcholine, and GABA in the development of tardive dyskinesia

In this paper various new findings on the possible anatomical substrates of tardive dyskinesia will be presented. The results show that the striatum is heterogeneously organized, and the syndromes of biting, gnawing, and licking activities in the rat model involve a complex balance between various dopamine (DA), cholinergic, and GABAergic systems within the striatum and the mesolimbic and mesocortical systems.

Role of noradrenaline and serotonin in the basolateral region of the amygdala in food preferences and learned taste aversions in the rat

First, it was confirmed that bilateral lesions in the basolateral region of the amygdala (ABL) of the rat increased the time spent eating novel as compared to familiar food in a food preference test, and that the lesions impaired learned taste aversion to a sucrose solution which had been paired with lithium chloride. Then the roles of noradrenaline and serotonin in the amygdala in these aspects of food intake were investigated. In Experiment 2, it was shown that injections of 10 and 20 nmoles of noradrenaline (NA) into the ABL increased the time spent eating familiar food in the food preference test. Higher doses of NA (50 and 100 nmoles) increased the total time spent eating without changing the preference of the rats for familiar or novel food, and produced behavioral side effects. Serotonin (5HT) injected into the ABL in doses of 10, 50 and 100 nmoles did not modify the pattern of choice of the foods. In Experiment 3, it was shown that depletion of NA in the ABL with 10 micrograms 6-hydroxydopamine did not alter the level of feeding of novel and familiar foods, but did impair taste aversion Depletion of 5HT in the ABL with 10 micrograms 5,7 dihydroxytryptamine did not alter food preferences or impair the taste aversion learning. The depletions of NA and 5HT were confirmed biochemically. These results provide further evidence for a role of the amygdala in preferences for novel as compared to familiar foods and in learning that the ingestion of a food is associated with sickness, and suggest that noradrenaline but not serotonin in the amygdala is involved in these types of control of food intake.

Tolerance to amphetamine-induced inhibition of neuronal activity in the central amygdaloid nucleus

Rats were pretreated twice daily for 5 consecutive days with saline or 2.5 mg/kg d-amphetamine. Approximately 12 hr after the last injection, neuronal activity was recorded bilaterally from the central amygdaloid nucleus (CAN) and the animals were challenged every 2 min with 0.2 mg/kg d-amphetamine or with increasing incremental doses of apomorphine. In saline controls, all CAN neurons were inhibited by the 5th amphetamine injection and two-thirds were suppressed by 0.64 mg/kg apomorphine. In amphetamine-pretreated animals, on the other hand, the majority of CAN neurons failed to respond even by the 10th amphetamine injection and less than one-third were inhibited by apomorphine even at a dose of 2.56 mg/kg. These results indicate that tolerance develops to the inhibitory effects of d-amphetamine in the CAN and that this effect is mediated, at least in part, by a decrease in the sensitivity of postsynaptic dopamine receptors.