Role of acetylcholine and dopamine in myoclonus induced by intrastriatal picrotoxin

1H NMR metabonomics indicates continued metabolic changes and sexual dimorphism post-parasite clearance in self-limiting murine malaria model

Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by Plasmodium spp. is considered to be a global threat, specifically for the developing countries. In human subjects considerable information exists regarding post-malarial physiology. However, most murine malarial models are lethal, and most studies deal with acute phases occurring as disease progresses. Much less is known regarding physiological status post-parasite clearance. We have assessed the physiological changes at the organ levels using (1)H NMR based metabonomics in a non lethal self-clearing murine malarial model of P. chabaudi parasites and Balb/C, far beyond the parasite clearance point. The results showed distinct metabolic states between uninfected and infected mice at the peak parasitemia, as well as three weeks post-parasite clearance. Our data also suggests that the response at the peak infection as well as recovery exhibited distinct sexual dimorphism. Specifically, we observed accumulation of acetylcholine in the brain metabolic profile of both the sexes. This might have important implication in understanding the pathophysiology of the post malarial neurological syndromes. In addition, the female liver showed high levels of glucose, dimethylglycine, methylacetoacetate and histidine after three weeks post-parasite clearance, while the males showed accumulation of branched chain amino acids, lysine, glutamine and bile acids.

Association between brain indole levels and severity of posthypoxic myoclonus in rats

We have previously reported the presence of posthypoxic, audiogenic myoclonus in rats after cardiac arrest and the ability of the 5-HT precursor, 5-HTP, to attenuate these muscle jerks. In addition, we have recently shown that 5-HT2 and 5-HT3 agonists can reduce the severity of myoclonus in these animals, suggesting a deficiency in serotonergic neurotransmission. In the present study, the levels of 5-HTP, 5-HT, and 5-HIAA were measured in seven regions of the brain in myoclonic and normal rats to identify the areas of the brain in which a serotonergic dysfunction resides. Similar to previous studies, we observed pronounced posthypoxic, audiogenic myoclonus 3 and 14 days after resuscitation from cardiac arrest, with a resolution of the abnormal movements by 45 days postarrest. HPLC measurements revealed significant changes in indole levels in the following areas of the brain: cortical 5-HIAA, striatal 5-HT, striatal 5-HIAA, hippocampal 5-HT, mesencephalic 5-HIAA, myelencephalic 5-HT, myelencephalic 5-HIAA, cerebellar 5-HTP, and cerebellar 5-HT. The changes in striatal 5-HT, cortical 5-HIAA, and mesencephalic 5-HIAA appear most relevant to the pathophysiology of posthypoxic myoclonus because regression analyses showed significant correlations between the myoclonus scores of the animals and the levels of these indoles. Based on the observed pattern of results, we postulate a dysfunction in serotonergic lateral (cortical) and far lateral (extrapyramidal) ascending pathways in posthypoxic myoclonus.

Intrastriatal dopaminergic agents, muscarinic stimulation, and GABA antagonism compared for rotation responses in rats

We tested the common hypothesis that rotation on systemic injection of dopaminergic agents in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the substantia nigra is attributable to unequal stimulation of dopamine receptors between the two striata. No rotation occurred when dopamine, apomorphine or amphetamine were injected into dorsal striatum or nucleus accumbens of intact, unanesthetized rats. Intrastriatal haloperidol elicited ipsiversive postural deviation only in conjunction with hypermotility induced by systemic amphetamine. In unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, intrastriatal apomorphine elicited rotation directed away from the side of its injection, whether intact or lesioned. Carbachol elicited short-latency rotation, contraversive to injection in dorsal striatum or nucleus accumbens, in both intact and 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. The rotation response to carbachol was suppressed by atropine administered systemically or into the site of intrastriatal carbachol. Picrotoxin or bicuculline produced contraversive rotation or contralateral myoclonic jerks on injection into the striatum in intact rats. The results show that asymmetric stimulation of striatal dopamine receptors is not sufficient to cause rotation, unless the receptors have been denervated. On the other hand, asymmetric stimulation muscarinic receptors is in itself enough to produce the imbalance of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic striatal outputs responsible for rotation.

Evidence for synergism between the antimyoclonic actions of 5-hydroxytryptophan and clonazepam in rats

The protective effect of the precursor of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) against myoclonus induced in rats by picrotoxin and allylglycine was demonstrated. The inhibition by 5-HTP of picrotoxin-induced myoclonic movements was found to correlate well with an increased 5-HT release from the cerebral cortex. p-Chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) pretreatment aggravated the actions of both picrotoxin and allylglycine by shortening their myoclonic latencies. These findings suggest that there is an antimyoclonic effect of 5-HT in the brain. The protective effect of clonazepam against these two myoclonic models was found to be potentiated in 5-HTP-pretreated animals. Only a partial inhibition of its protective effect resulted from PCPA pretreatment. These data suggest that a beneficial synergism is likely to occur between 5-HTP and clonazepam for the inhibition of myoclonus and that a 5-HTergic mechanism does not play a significant role in the antimyoclonic action of clonazepam.

3-Mercaptopropionic acid administration into the caudate-putamen of the rat provokes dyskinesia

The unilateral administration of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) through an implanted guide cannula into the caudate-putamen produced dyskinesia in the rat. Striatal GABA and dopamine were decreased and the dopamine metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic and homovanillic acid were increased on the MPA-injected side at 2-10 min after the onset of dyskinesia. The dyskinetic movements were blocked by GABA or alpha-aminooxaloacetic acid but not by glycine or haloperidol.

Analysis of the brain regions involved in myoclonus produced by intracerebral picrotoxin

Picrotoxin caused myoclonic jerking of the opposite forelimb when applied to the striatum and the cortical surface of rat brain. Intrastriatal picrotoxin increased [3H]2-deoxyglucose uptake by the ipsilateral frontal cortex, thalamus and subthalamic nucleus. Electrolyte and ibotenic acid lesions made in the globus pallidus prevented striatally evoked myoclonus without affecting the movements elicited from the cortex. Electrolytic lesions in the subthalamic nucleus and thalamus affected striatally evoked myoclonus more than the cortically elicited response. It is concluded that striato-pallidal-thalamic-cortical circuitry is responsible for striatally evoked myoclonus.

Differential effects of striatal injections of dopaminergic, cholinergic and GABAergic drugs upon swimming behavior of rats

The present study provides a detailed report about similarities and dissimilarities between the effects of neostriatally applied dopaminergic (apomorphine, 250-300 ng; haloperidol, 250-500 ng), cholinergic (carbachol, 50-100 ng; scopolamine, 200-500 ng), and GABAergic (muscimol, 1-2 ng; bicuculline, 5-35 ng) drugs upon swimming of rats. The used swimming test consisted of 4 parts: (a) open-field test for analyzing drug-induced changes in normal behavior; (b) 'swimming without escape' test for analyzing drug-induced changes in the ability to switch from one type of behavior to another; (c) 'swimming with escape' test for analyzing drug-induced changes in the ability to switch from ongoing swimming behavior to climbing behavior by allowing the rats to escape via a rope; and (d) 'rope' test for analyzing drug-induced changes in the kind of contact behaviors needed to switch to the latter climbing behavior. In the open-field test the drugs produced neither abnormal behavior nor motor disturbances, which prevented the display of normal behavior in the remaining tests. Both apomorphine and carbachol produced identical effects in all tests. Muscimol produced overall effects which were not only opposite to those of apomorphine and carbachol, but also comparable to those of scopolamine. All effects elicited by apomorphine, carbachol and muscimol were antagonized by their corresponding antagonists: haloperidol, scopolamine and bicuculline respectively, whereas the effects of the latter were suppressed by their corresponding agonists. These data globally show that dopamine and acetylcholine act in the same direction but opposite to that of GABA as far as it concerns the regions investigated. The finding that haloperidol injected into the GABA target area produced effects which were not only similar to those of haloperidol injected into the dopamine target area, but also dissimilar to those of muscimol and bicuculline injected into the GABA target area, shows that the effects were drug-specific rather than region-specific. Though 3 distinct cholinergic regions were investigated, cholinergic-specific effects could only be elicited from one region, suggesting that the neostriatum is heterogeneous in this respect. Finally, well-delineated dissimilarities between haloperidol-, scopolamine-, and muscimol-treated rats were found in the rope test. These data show that behavior-relevant information transmitted by GABAergic drugs surmounted that transmitted by cholinergic drugs which, in turn, surmounted behavior-relevant information transmitted by dopaminergic drugs.

Further evidence for the role of the caudate nucleus in programming motor and nonmotor behavior in Java monkeys

This study describes the short-term effects of intracaudate microinjections of carbachol in temporarily isolated and restrained Java monkeys. The monkeys were found to display a series of motor disturbances including blepharoptosis, facial twitches, tongue protrusions, ear flattening, torticollis, and compulsive alternations of rapid flexions and extensions of the extremities. In general, carbachol was found to produce consistent effects as far as it concerns its ability to elicit motor disturbances. Three of the five tested monkeys had previously received another series of carbachol injections when they were freely moving and living in a stabilized social group. Accordingly, the present study enabled us to compare the effectiveness of threshold doses of carbachol in the same monkey in two distinct situations. We concluded first, that motor disturbances and disturbances in social communication were closely coupled in relation to the involvement of a particular cholinoceptive substrate within the caudate nucleus of Java monkeys. Second, the motor disturbances under study appeared to require a larger degree of dysfunctioning of this substrate than did subtle disturbances in the social communication of these monkeys. And, finally, stress inherent to restraint increased the susceptibility of the cholinoceptive substrate within the caudate nucleus. The clinical impact of our findings is discussed in view of differences between the premorbid and manifest phases of Parkinson's disease.