1. Effects of nicotine on the exploratory locomotion patterns of female Roman high- and low-avoidance rats.
- Author
-
Bättig K, Driscoll P, Schlatter J, and Uster HJ
- Subjects
- Amines analysis, Animals, Brain Chemistry drug effects, Female, Nialamide pharmacology, Rats, Rats, Inbred Strains, Time Factors, Avoidance Learning drug effects, Exploratory Behavior drug effects, Motor Activity drug effects, Nicotine pharmacology
- Abstract
Utilizing an automated, Dashiell-type hexagonal maze, it was demonstrated that RHA rats: 1) were more active, 2) reversed direction more often, 3) entered radial (blind) alleys less often, and 4) displayed shorter latencies than did RLA rats. Direction reversals (U-turns) tended to increase from day to day with the RHA rats, whereas the opposite was true for the RLA rats. Nicotine injections (0.2 mg/kg) increased activity and the number of U-turns, shortened the latencies and lessened the likelihood of entering radial alleys for both strains. The RHA rats were more sensitive to nicotine than were the RLA rats in all of these measurements, which varied, depending upon alley length and structural complexity, among the maze configurations.
- Published
- 1976
- Full Text
- View/download PDF