Functional supersensitivity to adrenergic agonists in the rat after DSP-4, a selective noradrenergic neurotoxin
✍ Scribed by David J. Dooley; Ewa Mogilnicka; Alexandra Delini-Stula; Felix Waechter; Arnold Truog; Jeanette Wood
- Publisher
- Springer
- Year
- 1983
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 572 KB
- Volume
- 81
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0033-3158
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✦ Synopsis
Rats treated with DSP-4 [N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine], a selective noradrenergic neurotoxin, showed no differences compared to control rats in the number of head dips, a measure of exploratory behavior. Since a previous neurochemical investigation had demonstrated that DSP-4 rats have supersensitive alpha 2- and beta-adrenergic receptors in certain regions of the central nervous system, the behavior of these animals was also examined after the injection of clonidine, an alpha 2 agonist, and clenbuterol, a beta agonist. These drugs reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, the head-dipping of both control and DSP-4 rats. However, this effect was of greater magnitude in DSP-4 animals. Control experiments suggested that the response to clonidine and clenbuterol was mediated centrally by alpha 2 and beta receptors, respectively. Other behavioral experiments with agonists of the dopaminergic and serotoninergic systems indicated that these neurotransmitter systems were unchanged in DSP-4 animals. The results are discussed in terms of the selective action of DSP-4 and the responsiveness of DSP-4 rats to adrenergic agonists. The DSP-4-treated rat may constitute a new model of functional supersensitivity to adrenergic agonists.