Combined administration of alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin and beta-blocker propranolol impairs spatial avoidance learning on a dry arena

Spatial learning is a widely studied type of animal behavior often considered as a model of higher human cognitive functions. Noradrenergic receptors play a modulatory role in many nerve functions, including vigilance, attention, reward, learning and memory. The present study aimed at studying the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioural brain research 2010-04, Vol.208 (2), p.402-407
Main Authors: Petrasek, Tomas, Doulames, Vanessa, Prokopova, Iva, Vales, Karel, Stuchlik, Ales
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AAPA
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists - administration & dosage
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists - pharmacology
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - administration & dosage
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - pharmacology
Adrenoceptors
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Avoidance Learning - drug effects
Behavior, Animal - drug effects
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Drug Combinations
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Learning
Learning Disorders - chemically induced
Male
Memory
Motor Activity - drug effects
Place avoidance
Prazosin
Prazosin - administration & dosage
Prazosin - pharmacology
Propranolol
Propranolol - administration & dosage
Propranolol - pharmacology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Rats, Long-Evans
Space Perception - drug effects
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Summary:Spatial learning is a widely studied type of animal behavior often considered as a model of higher human cognitive functions. Noradrenergic receptors play a modulatory role in many nerve functions, including vigilance, attention, reward, learning and memory. The present study aimed at studying the effects of separate or combined systemic administration of the alpha1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin (1 and 2 mg/kg) and beta-blocker propranolol (5 and 20 mg/kg) on the hippocampus-dependent learning in the active allothetic place avoidance (AAPA) task. Both centrally active drugs impaired spatial learning when administered together, exerting no effect in separate applications. Locomotion was impaired only in a combined application of higher doses of both drugs (2 mg/kg prazosin and 20 mg/kg propranolol). These results suggest an in vivo interaction between these two types of receptors in spatial navigation regulation.
ISSN:0166-4328
1872-7549
DOI:10.1016/j.bbr.2009.12.025