Effects of morphine and LSD on the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response

Schindler, Charles W.; Gormezano, I.; Harvey, J A

doi:10.1016/0091-3057(85)90483-6

Cited by 32 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Apparatus and general procedure. The apparatus and procedure for delivering stimuli and recording responses of the nictitating membrane have been described in detail elsewhere (Gormezano, 1966;Gormezano et al, 1983;Schindler et al, 1985). Each rabbit was restrained in a Plexiglas stock, fitted with a headmount, and placed in an individually ventilated and sound-attenuated experimental chamber facing a stimulus panel containing an 11.4 cm speaker located above and directly in front of the animal and two 6 W, 24 V, D.C. houselights, one mounted on each side of the speaker.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebellar lesions and the nictitating membrane reflex: performance deficits of the conditioned and unconditioned response

1989

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Unilateral cerebellar lesions abolished the occurrence of ipsilateral conditioned nictitating membrane responses during the 285 msec interval between onset of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli on paired trials. This effect was obtained in 15 animals sustaining damage to the dorsolateral aspects of the interpositus nucleus and the adjoining white matter. However, conditioned responses did occur during the 800 msec observation interval employed on tone-alone test trials, and these responses exhibited the classic performance deficits normally associated with cerebellar damage: a low frequency of occurrence (14%, as compared with 96% before the lesion); a 3.1 mm decrease in amplitude; a 236 msec increase in onset latency; a 563 msec increase in latency of peak amplitude; and a 327 msec increase in rise time. Four of the 15 animals failed to demonstrate greater than 5% responding during the test trials. These performance deficits were not specific to the learned, conditioned response. Unconditioned responses were also reduced in frequency and increased in latency of peak amplitude and rise time, especially when elicited at lower air-puff intensities. These deficits in the unconditioned response were observed in animals that failed to exhibit conditioned responses on either paired or test trials, as well as in animals demonstrating conditioned responses only during test trials. We conclude that the cerebellum has a general role in regulating the nictitating membrane reflex so that deficits in learned responses observed after cerebellar lesions are secondary to a broader deficit in performance. The performance deficits appear to consist of a sensory component, as reflected by an increase in stimulus threshold for elicitation of the nictitating membrane reflex, and a motor component, as reflected by the altered topography of the evoked response. The results of this study thus reaffirm the role of the cerebellum in regulating the sensorimotor processes necessary for the optimal performance of both conditioned and unconditioned responses and extends this role to the expression of a simple cranial nerve reflex.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebellar lesions and the nictitating membrane reflex: performance deficits of the conditioned and unconditioned response

1989

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“…5-HT 1A receptor agonists had no effect or produced a slight retardation of learning (Alhaider et al 1993;Harvey 1996;Welsh et al 1998b). The enhancement of associative learning produced by 5-HT 2 agonists was found in varying situations to be accompanied by an increase in the amplitude of the unconditioned response (Schindler et al 1985;Harvey et al 1988;Romano et al 1991;Harvey 1993, 1994). More recently, we found that the 5-HT 2 antagonists ritanserin and MDL-11,939 produced a retardation of learning and a decrease in the amplitude of the unconditioned response, effects that were opposite to those of the 5-HT 2 agonists, while another 5-HT 2 antagonist, LY-53,857, had no effect on either measure (Welsh et al 1998a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effect of 5-HT 2 receptor antagonists on a cranial nerve reflex in the rabbit: evidence for inverse agonism

et al. 1999

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This study examined the role of the serotonin 5-HT2 receptor in motor function by examining the effect of antagonists on the motor performance of a cranial nerve reflex, the nictitating membrane (NM) reflex of the rabbit. The NM reflex was elicited by varying intensities of a tactile stimulus and the magnitudes of the elicited responses were measured at each intensity. Dose-response curves were obtained for the effects of several 5-HT2 receptor antagonists on response magnitude. d-Bro-molysergic acid diethylamide (BOL), LY-53,857 and ketanserin had no significant effect on the magnitude of the NM reflex, indicating that they are neutral antagonists. However, the 5-HT2 receptor antagonists ritanserin, MDL-11,939 and mianserin produced a significant reduction in response magnitude with no significant effects on response frequency, suggesting that they were acting as inverse agonists at the 5-HT2 receptor. The reduction in reflex magnitude produced by mianserin (10 micromol/kg) was fully blocked by BOL (5.8 micromol/kg), supporting the conclusion that mianserin was producing a reduction in reflex magnitude through an effect at the 5-HT2 receptor. The occurrence of inverse agonism suggests the possible existence of constitutive activity in vivo. We conclude that the 5-HT2 receptor (either 2A or 2C) plays an important role in motor function, perhaps by providing a tonic influence on motor systems.

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“…Pentazocine is a mixed action opioid, having agonist actions at both sigma and kappa receptors and agonist/antagonist actions at the mu receptor. The procedure used in this experiment was similar to that used in previous studies of opioid effects on classical conditioning in the rabbit [Schindler et al, 1983. Briefly, the offset of a tone CS (200-ms, 90-db, 1-KHz) was paired with the onset of a paraorbital shock US (100-ms, 60-Hz).…”

Section: The Rabbit Nictitating Membrane Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Use of classical conditioning procedures in behavioral pharmacology

Schindler

Harvey

1990

Drug Development Research

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While operant conditioning clearly dominates the field of behavioral pharmacology, over the past 10 years, classical conditioning has been used more frequently to study the effect of drugs on behavior. In particular, the rabbit nictitating membrane response (NMR) has been used to study the effects of drugs on learning. This procedure offers a number of advantages over other assessments of learning in mammals to the study of drug effects on learning. First, because the rabbit NMR is well characterized behaviorally, it is possible to relate a drug effect to a particular behavioral process (e.g., to an effect directly on learning vs. an effect on the psychological processing of the unconditioned stimulus). In addition, with recent advances in determining the neuroanatomical basis of the conditioned NMR, it may also be possible to relate a drug effect on learning to an effect at a particular anatomical locus. Finally, because the conditioned response is acquired rapidly, the effect of a drug on learning can be assessed rapidly within a large group of animals. The current paper details the behavioral techniques which have been developed to study the effects of drugs, in particular the opioids, on classical Conditioning. A number of studies which have used classical conditioning procedures in the rabbit to study drug effects on acquisition, maintenance, and differentiation of conditioned responses are reviewed.

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Effects of morphine and LSD on the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response

Cited by 32 publications

References 9 publications

Cerebellar lesions and the nictitating membrane reflex: performance deficits of the conditioned and unconditioned response

Cerebellar lesions and the nictitating membrane reflex: performance deficits of the conditioned and unconditioned response

Effect of 5-HT 2 receptor antagonists on a cranial nerve reflex in the rabbit: evidence for inverse agonism

Use of classical conditioning procedures in behavioral pharmacology

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