Erowid References Database
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Gale K, Horita A.
“Dopamine Agonist Induced Disorientation in a Rat Swimming Task.”.
Pharmacologist. 1974;16(2):308.
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Abstract
Rats were trained to swim to a ladder in order to climb out of a water (30 °) filled tub. Time from placement in water (facing away from ladder at a distance of 20") to grasping of the ladder with forepaws was recorded. Baseline scores averaging 2.5 see were obtained from trained rats, who consistently swam directly to the ladder. After d-amphetamine (AM) or apomorphine (APO) (4 or 5 mg/kg) swimming became random and apparently nondirected. Swimming ability per se was not impaired and the rats reached the ladder by chance after 10-60 sec. AM And APO-induced disorientation was inhibited by pretreatment with haloperidol or pimozide (0.25 mg/kg) at doses which did not completely block APO-induced stereotyped gnawing. Various compounds including scopolamine, phenoxybenzamine, clonidine, chlordiazepoxide, LSD, and 5 - hydroxytryptophan, did not significantly alter the behavior of the rats in this task. However scopolamine pretreatment (0.5-1.0 mg/kg) reduced the minimal effective APO dose by 50-80%. The disorientation effect thus seemed to be specific to stimulation of a dopaminergic system and subject to marked potentiation by cholinergic antagonism. To determine the nature of the disorientation, rats were also tested in water mazes of differing complexities and with various discriminative cues.
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