Comparative behavioural profile of centrally administered tachykinin NK1, NK2 and NK3 receptor agonists in the guinea-pig.

1. The NK1 tachykinin receptor agonists, septide, [Sar9,Met(O2)11]SP and [Pro9]SP produced locomotor hyperactivity (10-20 min) when injected intracerebroventricularly (i.c.

Differential ability of tachykinin NK-1 and NK-2 agonists to produce scratching and grooming behaviours in mice.

Potent and selective NK-1 and NK-2 agonists as well as compounds with lower selectivity and affinity for NK-1 binding sites were compared in their ability to produce scratching and grooming behaviours when injected intracerebroventricularly in mice. Septide, an agonist with a low affinity for NK-1 binding sites, [Sar9, Met(O2)11]SP and to a lesser extent [Pro9]SP, two potent and selective NK-1 agonists were the most effective drugs in stimulating these behaviours. Only high doses of [Apa9,10]SP and [Lys5, Tyr7, Pro8]NKA(4-10), two agonists with low affinity for NK-1 binding sites, produced scratching and grooming responses.

Involvement of prefrontal dopamine neurones in behavioural blockade induced by controllable vs uncontrollable negative events in rats.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the involvement of dopaminergic (DA) neurones afferent to the prefrontal cortex in stress-related behaviours induced by controllable vs uncontrollable negative events. Rats were either sham-operated or given a bilateral infusion of 6-hydroxydopamine (4 micrograms in 0.4 microliter) into the prefrontal cortex which resulted in a specific and almost complete (80%) reduction of local DA.

Anticonflict-like effect of a prefrontal dopaminergic lesion in rats: permissive role of noradrenergic neurons.

The effects of a perfrontal dopamine (DA) lesion were compared to those induced by a combined DA and noradrenaline (NA) lesion, to investigate the permissive role of prefrontal NA terminals in the anxiolytic-like effect of a prefrontal DA lesion. Lesions consisted of bilateral microinjections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the medial prefrontal cortex in rats either given desipramine (25mg/kg) before surgery (DA lesion) or not pretreated with desipramine (combined DA and NA lesions). Three weeks post-surgery, water-restricted rats, given saline or diazepam (2mg/kg), were subjected to a single session in the punished drinking test.