Abstract
Studies on the neurotransmitter substrate of locomotion and place navigation occupy a central position in behavioral neuroscience. Active allothetic place avoidance (AAPA) is a task, in which animals are trained to avoid a room frame defined stable sector on a continuously rotating arena. The aim of the present study was to test the effect of the blockage of alpha1- and alpha2-adrenoceptors, using specific antagonists prazosin and idazoxan, on the locomotor activity and spatial behavior in the AAPA task. Both prazosin and idazoxan at the highest doses (4 and 6 mg/kg, respectively) were found to decrease the locomotor activity in the AAPA and they also impaired navigational performance. The results suggest that antagonizing alpha-adrenoceptors with systemically administered drugs affects locomotor activity together with avoidance behavior and does not cause a purely cognitive deficit in the AAPA task.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Antagonists
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Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists
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Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / pharmacology*
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Animals
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Avoidance Learning / drug effects*
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Avoidance Learning / physiology
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Brain / drug effects*
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Brain / metabolism
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Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
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Idazoxan / pharmacology
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Male
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Memory Disorders / chemically induced
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Memory Disorders / physiopathology
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Motor Activity / drug effects*
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Motor Activity / physiology
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Prazosin / pharmacology
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Rats
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Rats, Long-Evans
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha / drug effects*
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha / metabolism
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1 / metabolism
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2 / metabolism
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Space Perception / drug effects*
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Space Perception / physiology
Substances
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Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Antagonists
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Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists
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Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1
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Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2
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Prazosin
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Idazoxan