Brain research
-
We evaluated the effects of bilateral radio-frequency lesions of the paragigantocellular (PGi) reticular nucleus in the ventral medulla on male rat copulatory behavior. In Experiment 1, sexually naive male rats with such lesions were more likely than sham-operated controls to copulate to ejaculation during their first exposure to an estrous female. Additionally, among the rats that copulated to ejaculation, those with lesions demonstrated a reduction in mount frequency (MF), intromission frequency (IF), and ejaculation latency (EL), and an increase in copulatory efficiency (CE). ⋯ Males with PGi lesions showed an increased latency to sexual exhaustion and an increased number of ejaculations prior to exhaustion. Additionally, rats with PGi lesions displayed reductions in IF, EL, and post-ejaculatory interval (PEI) as they approached sexual exhaustion. Our results provide further evidence that the PGi is a supraspinal locus of descending inhibitory influence on spinal nuclei mediating ejaculatory reflexes in the male rat.
-
The role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-channel complex in ketamine-induced anesthesia was examined in mice. General anesthetic potencies were evaluated on a rating scale, which provided the data for anesthetic scores, loss of righting reflex, sleeping time and recovery time. All drugs were administered intraperitoneally. ⋯ A dose of 300 mg/kg of NMDA significantly shifted the dose-response curve of ketamine for loss of righting reflex to the right. A high dose of D-cycloserine (200 mg/kg), an agonist at the glycine site on the NMDA receptor complex, slightly but significantly shortened the sleeping time caused by ketamine (100 mg/kg). However, neither a critical subconvulsive dose of kainate (15 mg/kg), a kainate receptor agonist, nor a subconvulsive dose of quisqualate (120 mg/kg), an alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor agonist, reversed general anesthesia induced by 100 mg/kg of ketamine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
-
The effect of intracerebroventricular administration of low-antinociceptive doses of selective mu- (DAMGO) or delta- (DPDPE) opioid agonists on the dose-dependent antinociceptive effects produced by intrathecal administration of sequentially increasing doses of selective mu-, delta-, or kappa-(U50,488H) opioid agonists was evaluated, in the rat, using the Randall-Selitto paw-withdrawal test. When DPDPE or U50,488H was administered intrathecally, the low doses of both intracerebroventricular DAMGO and intracerebroventricular DPDPE markedly enhanced the antinociceptive effects of both intrathecal opioids. In contrast, when DAMGO was administered intrathecally, both intracerebroventricular DAMGO and intracerebroventricular DPDPE, administered in low doses, markedly antagonized the antinociceptive effects of the intrathecal opioid. ⋯ The antagonism of the antinociceptive effects observed with spinal administration of DAMGO is dose-dependent, with the effect observed only at low doses. Furthermore, the antagonism cannot be explained by a reduction in motor deficits produced by intrathecal administration of DAMGO, because there were no differences in motor deficits, measured with an accelerating Rotarod treadmill, between intrathecal DAMGO administered as a single agent or as part of a combination regimen. The differences in antinociceptive effects obtained with the various supraspinal and spinal combinations are discussed in terms of the interactions that may occur between brainstem and spinal opioid receptor sites.
-
To assess the potential of micromachined silicon sieve electrodes for long term recordings from single afferent sensory fibers, we implanted them between the cut ends of rat glossopharyngeal nerves which innervate taste and somatosensory receptors on the posterior tongue. After the implants had been in place for an average of 101 days nerve regeneration was measured using histological and electrophysiological methods. Axons of the glossopharyngeal nerve regenerated through holes in the sieves and supported the functional regeneration of taste, thermal and mechanoreceptors.
-
The effects of various doses of the alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist clonidine administered systemically (30, 50 and 100 micrograms/kg i.v.), were investigated on the vocalization threshold to paw pressure in normal rats and in rats with Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis. Previous results have suggested that there is an increase in the activity of the bulbospinal noradrenergic systems in these arthritic animals. ⋯ Clonidine was found to be highly effective in arthritic animals, even at the lower concentration: the elevation in threshold produced by 30 micrograms/kg i.v. was 160% in arthritic vs. 124% in normal rats. The effects of clonidine were prevented dose-dependently by pretreatment with yohimbine or idazoxan 250 to 1000 micrograms/kg i.v., in the two groups of rats, indicating clearly that the dose-dependent effects of i.v. clonidine are mediated by alpha-2 adrenoceptors.