Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas neurotransmitter that may facilitate glutamate release in the central nervous system. NO donors or glutamate agonists injected into the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey (dlPAG) induce flight behaviour. To test the hypothesis that the defensive reactions induced by an NO donor in the dlPAG would be attenuated by pretreatment with AMPA/kainate or NMDA glutamate receptor antagonists. Male Wistar rats with cannulae aimed at the dlPAG received vehicle, AP7 (a NMDA receptor antagonist, 2 nmol) or NBQX (an AMPA/kainite receptor antagonist, 100 nmol) injection 10 min before the administration of SIN-1 (an NO donor, 300 nmol). Immediately after the last injection, their behavior was observed in an open arena during 10 min. SIN-1 induced flight reactions characterized by running and jumps. Pretreatment with AP7 or NBQX completely prevented the effects of SIN-1. The results suggest that the aversive reactions induced by an NO donor in the dlPAG depend on ionotropic glutamate receptor activation.
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