Selective agonists of metabotropic glutamate receptors elicit significant EEG effects when infused in the nucleus accumbens of rats

Abstract

The effect of intra-accumbens infusion of selective group I (( S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine, DHPG), group II ((2 S,3 S,4 S)-CCG/(2 S,1′ S,2′ S)-2-(carboxycyclopropyl)glycine, l-CCG-I) and group III (( l-(+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid, l-AP4) metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor agonists was studied in male Wistar rats. A computerised electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectral analysis was performed. While DHPG (400 nmoles) induced EEG and behavioural limbic seizures, l-CCG-I (400 nmoles) and l-AP4 (800 nmoles) induced a `depressant' EEG with an increase in relative power in the slow-frequency bands and a decrease in relative power in the high-frequency bands) and behavioural effects. These results show for the first time that the stimulation of groups I, II and III mGlu receptors located in the nucleus accumbens significantly influences the EEG tracing in rats.