Effects of intra-accumbens blockade of NMDA receptors in two models of anxiety, in rats

✍ Scribed by Maria Jessa; Maciej Nazar; Adam Plaźnik

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 518 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0893-6609
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6769(199607)19:1<19::aid-nrc159>3.0.co;2-m

✦ Synopsis

In this study the anxiolytic-like effects of intra-accumbens administration of (+)-MK-801, [(+)-5-methyl-l0,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten6,1O-iminehydrogen maleate; noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist] and AP-7, [(+J-2-ami no-7phosphonoheptanoic acid; competitive NMDA receptor antagonist] in the test of neophobia and the Vogel conflict test, were assessed in rats. Both compounds, although in a limited dose range, disinhibited exploratory activity of non-habituated rats and increased responding suppressed by punishment, independently from changes in animals motility. The obtained results indicate an anxiolytic-like effect of local inhibition of NMDA receptor complex within this brain limbic structure, and support the proposal that accumbal glutamate innervation may be involved in processing of emotional input.