Behavioral
studies on central dopaminergic
neurons.
especially
jumping, stretching, body shaking
and
yawning behavior
Yamada K, Furukawa T
Department of pharmacology,
School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan
Behavioral studies were performed in an
attempt to elucidate the involvement of
dopaminergic neurons in Jumping and sretching in
mice and body shaking and yawning in rats.
Alpha-naphthoxyacetic acid (a-NOAA) elicited
dose-dependent jumping and stretching behavior
at doses ranging from 250 to 700 mg/kg in mice
and vomiting at a dose of 550 mg/kg in pigeons.
Beta-NOAA also produced jumping behavior, but
the action was weaker than a-NOAA.
The (a-NOAA-induced jumping behavior was
only inhibited to a certain degree by
disulfiram, tranycypromine, haloperidol,
scopolamine, bicuculline, diazepam or lithium,
but was markedly inhibited by a dopaminergic
agonist, apomorphine, this inhibitory effect
being significantly antagonized by a
dopaminergic antagonist, haloperidol.
Apomorphine (2 mg/kg, i.p.) produced itself
neither stretching in mice nor vomiting in
pigeons though it induced marked feeding
(pecking) in pigeons. However protoveratrine-A
(0.1 mg/kg, /.p.), a veratrum alkaloid, also
induced stretching in mice and vomiting in
pigeons.
The characteristic stretching elicited by
a-NOAA or protoveratrine-A was not significantly
affected by scopolamine, aminooxyacetic acid and
y-butyrolactone, but was markedly inhibited by
apomorphine, this inhibitory effect being
antagonized without significance by haloperidol
which did not itself augment the stretching.
Moreover, intraperitoneal injections of a-NOAA
at doses of 550 and 700 mg/kg in mice exhibited
a significant increase of brain dopamine levels.
These results indicate that the jumping and
stretching behavior elicited by a-NOAA may be
due to the inhibition of dopaminergic neuronal
activity.
Low doses (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) of apomorphine,
which preferentially activate presynaptic
dopamine autoreccptors, elicited yawning in
rats. Whereas apomorphine, at a high dose of 2
mg/kg, produces stereotypy which has been
thought to be mediated by stimulation of
postsynaptic dopamine receptors. The yawning and
stereotypy did not occur simultaneously in the
rat. The apomorphine-induced yawning was
completely inhibited by pretreatment with
fluphenazine or scopolamine, but markedly
increased by reserpine though it was not
affected by methylscopolamine.
Piribedil also elicited yawning at a low
dose of 5 mg/kg (i.p.) and stereotypy at a high
dose of 80 mg/kg. The yawning produced by
piribedil was significantly blocked by fluphena
zine, scopolamine and methysergide. Both
physostigmine (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.), an indirect
acetylcholine agonist, and pilocarpine (4 mg/kg,
LP.), a direct acetylcholine agonist, also
induced yawning, which was abolished by
scopolamine and increased by reserpine.
Fluphenazine did not affect the
pilocarpine-induced yawning but increased the
physostigmine-induced yawning. In addition, the
physostigmine-induced yawning was mark edly
inhibited by apomorphine but not by a selective
antiserotonergic drug, methysergide, whereas the
pilocarpine-induced yawning was not affected by
either apomorphine or methysergide.
Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, (alpha
MSH, 10 µg/i. vent.) induced yawning an
stretching but it also produced body shaking.
Yawning synchronized with stretching in almost
all cases. Yawning and stretching were gradually
increased after injection and was marked at
90-100 min and 60-70 mm, respectively, while
body shaking began within 5 min and was marked
at 10-20 min after injection. Body shaking was
also produced by the combined treatment with
5-hydroxytryptophan (150 mg/kg, s.c.) and Ro
4-4602 (50 mg/kg, i.p.) accompanied scarcely by
yawning and stretching.
The a-MSH-induced yawning and stretching
were blocked by scopolamine, apomorphine
fluphenazine and methysergide, while body shak
ing was not blocked by scopolamine but decreased
by apomorphine, fluphenazine and methysergide.
The results indicate that apomorphine and
piribedil elicit yawning by stimulating
presynaptic dopamine receptors and the yawning
concomitantly involves serotonergic activation,
dopaminergic inhibition and cholinergic
activation, and that the jumping and stretching
behavior seem to be due to dopaminergic
inhibition and the body shaking due to
serotonergic activation.
-Fugikawa
M; Yamada K; Nagashima M; Furukawa T
Involvement of beta-adrenoreceptors in
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Involvement of catecholamine receptor activities
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Furukawa T Direct evidence for involvement
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Furukawa T The yawning elicited by
alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone involves
serotonergic -dopaminergic - cholinergic neuron
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Furukawa T Behavioral studies on central
dopaminergic neurons. especially jumping,
stretching, body shaking and yawning behavior J
PharmacoBio dynamics 1980; 3; S16-S18
