This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Berntson, G. Articles by Ronis, V. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Berntson, G. Articles by Ronis, V. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Benzodiazepine receptor agonists and inverse agonists yield concordant rather than opposing effects on startle responses

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 48 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

M. Sarter

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 48 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

S. Ruland

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 48 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

S. Hart

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 48 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

V. Ronis

Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, The Ohio State University, 48 Townshend Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Benzodiazepine receptor agonists and inverse agonists exert generally opposite actions at both the cellular and behavioural levels. The present study, however, reveals that both the benzodiazepine receptor agonist, chlordiazepoxide and the partial inverse agonist, FG7142, yield a dose-dependent (2-16 mg/kg, i.p) reduction in the amplitude of the acoustic startle response in the rat. The similarity in drug effects on startle was not attributable to congruent effects on basal somatic activity, as chlordiazepoxide resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in activity whereas FG7142 was associated with a small but non-significant increase in activity. As these results contrast with the bidirectional actions of benzodiazepine receptor agonists and inverse agonists in behavioural tests of fear or anxiety, the neuronal mechanisms mediating the effects of benzodiazepine receptor ligands on the acoustic startle response may be distinct from those that underlie the specific fear- attenuating and potentiating actions, respectively, of benzodiazepine receptor agonists and inverse agonists.

Key Words: benzodiazepines • ß-carbolines • chlordiazepoxide • FG7142 • startle response

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 309-312 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/026988119601000409


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?