Anxiogenesis induced by nitric oxide synthase inhibition and anxiolytic effect of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) in rat brain. |
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| Authors: | M E Monzón M M Varas S R De Barioglio |
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| Institution: | Laboratorio de Fisiología, Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), 5000 Córdoba, Argentina. fisiol@mail.fcq.unc.edu.ar |
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| Abstract: | In this study, the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in the mechanism of anxiety was investigated. The rats received an intraamygdaline or intrahippocampal injection of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-l-arginine (L-NOARG), and were then tested in the plus-maze test. L-NOARG induced a decrease in the time spent by rats in the open arms. Conversely, the administration of the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) into these structures increased the number of entries into the open arms as well as the time spent on them. MCH injected in rats pretreated with L-NOARG also was able to revert the anxiogenic effects of L-NOARG in amygdala. |
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