Authors: A F Yakimovskii
Publish Date: 2012/09/11
Volume: 42, Issue: 7, Pages: 725-729
Abstract
Chronic experiments on Wistar rats were performed to study the effects of two weeks of daily microinjections of zinc chloride into the rostral part of the neostriatum on motor behavior Zinc chloride at a dose of 1 μg decreased the intensity of spontaneous motor activity in the open field and starting from day 5 of microinjections decreased the avoidance reflex in a shuttle box the reflex only recovered one week after cessation of doses A zinc chloride dose of 01 μg had a smaller effect on measures of the conditioned avoidance reflex while the level of spontaneous motor activity increased in this group of animals These shifts in the rats’ behavior may be associated with the influences of zinc ions on the state of ion channels in the membranes of neostriatal neurons including those activated by glutamate whose receptor systems depend on the zinc concentration The possibility of controlling the activity of ion channels in brain tissue in chronic behavioral experiments by creating particular zinc concentrations is discussed
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