Effects of immobilization and cold exposure on the turnover rate of acetylcholine in rat brain areas

Swimming stress that causes hyperglycemia increases in vivo release of noradrenaline, but not acetylcholine, from the hypothalamus of conscious rats

The effects of acute swimming stress (10 min) on noradrenaline release from the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH; consisting of the ventromedial and dorsomedial hypothalamus) and acetylcholine release from the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) were investigated in freely moving rats by using in vivo microdialysis techniques. Serum glucose, noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations were also determined. Acute swimming stress produced significant hyperglycemia, with increases in serum noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations. The release of noradrenaline from the MBH was significantly stimulated during the swimming stress. On the other hand, the swimming stress has no significant effect on the release of acetylcholine from the LHA. These findings support the idea that hypothalamic noradrenergic neurons play an important role in the sympathoadrenal hyperglycemic response to stressful stimuli. Moreover, it is suggested that hypothalamic cholinergic neurons are not involved in the responses of serum glucose, noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations to swimming stress.

Changes in acetylcholine content, release and muscarinic receptors in rat hippocampus under cold stress

The aim was to study the mechanism of the previously established decrease in acetylcholine (ACh) concentration in the rat hippocampus under cold stress. Male rats were exposed for 14 days to cold (5 degrees C) or kept (controls) at room temperature (24 degrees C). Acetylcholine content, release and muscarinic receptor binding were investigated in the hippocampus. Cold exposure resulted in a decrease of ACh concentration in the dorsal hippocampus. Moreover, the potassium-evoked release of ACh from hippocampal slices was increased and an increase of maximal binding capacity of [3H] (-) quinuclidinyl benzilate in the dorsal hippocampus of cold exposed animals was also observed. Thus the decrease of hippocampal ACh concentration under cold exposure is probably due to its increased release. On balance then, our results demonstrate that cold stress in the rat induces significant activation of the hippocampal cholinergic system.

Restraint stress in biomedical research: a review

The use of restraint or immobilization for investigations of animal physiology, pathology and pharmacology has an extensive history. The major use of this technique has been as a "stressor" for the induction of stress response syndromes in animals. Many such syndromes have been characterized from the behavioral level to the neurochemical concomitants of stress. As a consequence of this particular use of the restraint procedure, much information concerning drug effects on stress response syndromes has been obtained. Indeed, many researchers in the area of gastrointestinal drugs routinely screen their new compounds in a restraint model of gastric stress ulcer. The purpose of this review is to present for researchers, a summary of the methods for, the parameters of, and known drug effects on, restraint-induced pathology. In our experience, this technique has proven to be a very useful one for the examination of both central and peripheral mechanisms of stress-related disorders, as well as for studying drug effects upon these disorders.

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.