Manipulation of Central GABAergic and Dopaminergic Systems Alters Stress Responding in the Rat

• Published in: Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 667 - 670
• Main Authors: Hawkins, Mike F, Baumeister, Alan A, Larue, Robert H, Uzelac, Sarah M, Fountain, Laura T, Hindelang, Alicia C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-07-2000; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animals; Behavioral psychophysiology; Benzazepines - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Dopamine; Dopamine Antagonists - pharmacology; Drug Interactions; Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment; Feeding Behavior - drug effects; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GABA; GABA Agonists - pharmacology; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous (drug allergy, mutagens, teratogens...); Muscimol; Muscimol - pharmacology; Neurotransmission and behavior; oral behavior; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychomotor Performance - drug effects; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine - drug effects; Receptors, Dopamine - metabolism; Receptors, GABA - drug effects; Receptors, GABA - metabolism; SCH 23390; Stereotypy; Stress; Stress, Physiological - metabolism; Tail pinch; Tail pinch; SCH 23390; Dopamine; GABA; Muscimol; Stereotypy; Stress; Agonist; Drug combination; Rat; Toxicity; Gabaergic agonist; Rodentia; D1 Dopamine receptor; Central nervous system; Biological activity; Gabaergic receptor; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Intracerebral administration; Drug interaction; Antagonist; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0091-3057; 1873-5177
• DOI: 10.1016/S0091-3057(00)00256-2

HAWKINS M. F., A. A. BAUMEISTER, R. H. LARUE, S. M. UZELAC, L. T. FOUNTAIN AND A. C. HIN-DELANG.
Manipulation of central GABAergic and dopaminergic systems alters stress responding in the rat. PHARMACOL BIOCHEM BEHAV
66(3) 667–670, 2000.—Activation of central GABA
A systems with muscimol has been shown to facilitate stress responding and GABA is known to modulate central dopaminergic activity. To evaluate the possibility that this effect of muscimol may depend upon a dopamine mechanism we have tested the effect of intracerebroventricular coadministration of muscimol and the selective D
1 antagonist SCH 23390 on behaviors evoked by tail pinch stress. When injected by themselves muscimol (1.75 nmol) facilitated stress-evoked oral behavior while SCH 23390 (6–600 nmol) produced a dose-related suppression of oral behavior. Coadministration of muscimol and doses of SCH 23390 selected for producing no (6 and 30 nmol), or marginal (60 nmol), effects on stress responding resulted in a dose-related reversal of the increase in orality seen with muscimol alone. The results are consistent with the notion that stressful stimuli activate central GABA
A systems which, in turn, enhance dopaminergic neurotransmission.