A rapid method for evaluating the behavioral effects of phencyclidine-like dissociative anesthetics in mice.
G E Evoniuk, R P Hertzman, P Skolnick
Psychopharmacology January 1, 1991 DOI: 10.1007/bf02316874 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA simple method detects behavioral effects of dissociative anesthetics like phencyclidine (PCP) and dizolcipine in mice. These drugs, which bind to NMDA-coupled cation channels, caused a dose-related increase in the percentage of mice falling from a circular arena on a 60 cm platform. Other compounds, including competitive NMDA antagonists and sigma-receptor ligands with low PCP receptor affinity, did not produce this behavior. Pretreatment with glycine reduced falls caused by a maximally effective dose of dizolcipine in a dose-dependent manner. This procedure may aid rapid detection of dissociative anesthetics and evaluation of PCP antagonists.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Interventions | Phencyclidine dizolcipine competitive NMDA antagonists sigma-receptor ligands glycine |
| Key finding | Dissociative anesthetics binding to NMDA-coupled cation channels produced a dose-related increase in mice falling from a platform, while other compounds did not, and glycine pretreatment reduced this effect. |
Abstract
A simple and rapid method for detecting the behavioral effects of phencyclidine and related dissociative anesthetics is described. Dissociative anesthetics such as phencyclidine (PCP) and dizolcipine, which bind with high affinities at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) coupled cation channels ("PCP receptors"), produced a dose-related increase in the percentage of mice that fell from a 1.5 cm deep circular arena mounted on a 60 cm platform. A similar behavior was not manifest by other classes of compounds examined including competitive NMDA antagonists, an antagonist at strychnine-insensitive glycine receptors, and sigma-receptor ligands with moderate to low affinities for PCP receptors. Pretreatment of mice with glycine reduced in a dose-dependent manner the percentage of falls elicited by a maximally effective dose of dizolcipine. This simple procedure may prove useful for both the rapid detection of dissociative anesthetics and evaluation of putative PCP antagonists.