The effects of alcohol and atropine on EEG and behavior in the rabbit

✍ Scribed by Ian Q. Whishaw

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1976
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 831 KB
• Volume: 48
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0033-3158
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00423311

✦ Synopsis

Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded from hippocampus and neocortex of rabbits. It was found that movement, movement-related 6-12 Hz rhythmical slow activity (RSA), and movement-related neocortical desynchronization were unaffected by intravenous atropine sulfate but depressed by ethyl alcohol (ethanol). Slower 4-8 Hz immobilityrelated RSA and immobility-related neocortical desynchronization produced by sensory stimulation (visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular) were relatively unaffected by ethanol even at high (0.1-0.2 g-%) blood alcohol levels, but were abolished by atropine sulfate. The results provide evidence for the idea of two pharmacologically separable cortical activating systems and suggest that ethanol has a greater effect on noncholinergic than cholinergic systems.