Article
Effects of some cholinergic agonists on neocortical slow wave activity in rats with basal forebrain lesions

https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-9230(93)90118-UGet rights and content

Abstract

Chronic rats, prepared with unilateral injections of kainic acid in the left basal forebrain, displayed prominent large amplitude slow wave activity in the neocortex ipsilateral to the injection. Oxotremorine and pilocarpine, given systemically following pretreatment with methyl scopolamine to block peripheral muscarinic effects, restored low voltage fast activity (LVFA) in a dose-related manner. Oxotremorine was more potent than pilocarpine. Arecoline was not consistently effective. Tetrahydroaminoacridine abolished abnormal 4–6 Hz rhythmical slow waves in the left neocortex but had little effect on large amplitude irregular slow waves. Direct-acting cholinergic agonists can restore near-normal neocortical activity after extensive cholinergic deafferentation of the neocortex.

References (37)

  • C.H. Vanderwolf

    Cerebral activity and behavior: Control by central cholinergic and serotonergic systems

    Int. Rev. Neurobiol.

    (1988)
  • C.H. Vanderwolf et al.

    Phenoxybenzamine reduces mortality associated with intracerebral injections of excitatory neurotoxins

    Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

    (1991)
  • C.H. Vanderwolf et al.

    Thalamic control of neocortical activation: A critical re-evaluation

    Brain Res. Bull.

    (1988)
  • I.Q. Whishaw et al.

    Hippocampal EEG and behavior: Effects of variation in body temperature and relation of EEG to vibrissae movement, swimming and shivering

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1971)
  • N.J. Woolf et al.

    Cholinergic systems in the rat brain: III. Projections from the pontomesencephalic tegmentun to the thalamus, tectum, basal ganglia, and basal forebrain

    Brain Res. Bull.

    (1986)
  • P. Andersen et al.

    Physiological basis of the alpha rhythm

    (1968)
  • N.J.M. Birdsall et al.

    The binding of agonists to brain muscarinic receptors

    Mol. Pharmacol.

    (1978)
  • Cited by (24)

    • Sleep and EEG profile in neonatal hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia

      2007, Physiology and Behavior
      Citation Excerpt :

      Studies using this model have generally showed that neonatal hippocampal lesioned animals exhibit an enhanced sensitivity to the locomotor-activating effect of direct or indirect dopamine agonists when lesions leave the areas surrounding the ventral hippocampus including dentate gyrus and enthorhinal cortex intact [34]. Additionally, a neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion exhibits cytoarchitectural alterations resembling those found in brain regions targeted by ventral hippocampus projections of postmortem schizophrenic patients i.e. a decrease of interneurons in the prefrontal cortex such cells expressing the GABA synthesis enzyme GAD67 [26,35]. Thus, the hyperactivity observed in lesioned animal might be related to decreased GABAergic inhibition of the ventral hippocampus mediated locomotion, like the hyperactivity observed in the open field following the blockade of GABAA receptors in the ventral hippocampus [36].

    • Cholinergic and serotonergic neocortical projection lesions given singly or in combination cause only mild impairments on tests of skilled movement in rats: Evaluation of a model of dementia

      2003, Brain Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      Second, the impairments in behavior following bilateral lesions may be secondary to the impairments in the EEG. Possibly, slowing of the EEG due to unilateral lesions [9,45] may not have been large enough to produce behavioral impairments. Third, Vanderwolf’s [42] preparations, as well as those of others [4,11], used animals in which either ACh and 5-HT were inactivated pharmacologically.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text