The effects of psychotropic drugs on exploratory and stereotyped behaviour of rats studied on a hole-board

Abstract

Exploratory and stereotyped behaviour of Male Wistar rats was studied on a hole-board. The two forms of behaviour were differentiated according to the pattern of hole-dipping activity. Increasing doses of dl-amphetamine stimulated both forms of behaviour with stereotyped behaviour becoming predominant particularly at the higher dose levels. At the highest dose of amphetamine used (16 mg/kg) a gradual transition from exploratory to stereotyped behaviour was observed with time. As the drug wore off this transition was reversed. Haloperitol at a dosage of 0.1 and 0.05 mg/kg blocked the response to a high dose of amphetamine whereas a lower dose (0.02 mg/kg) blocked the stereotyped response to amphetamine while some exploratory behaviour still took place. Apomorphine inhibited hole-dipping but at lower doses another form of exploratory behaviour was induced, this behaviour becoming stereotyped as the dose was increased. It is concluded that there is a close relationship between exploratory and stereotyped behaviours. Monoamine systems appear to play a significant role in the regulation of both forms of behaviour.

Development of a mouse test for repetitive, restricted behaviors: Relevance to autism

“…This high level of interest was especially evident in one NR1 neo/neo male, suggesting that the hole-board task can be used to identify individual mice characterized by unusual restricted interests (extreme interest in one olfactory stimulus, especially a stimulus non-preferred by control mice), as well as repetitive behavior. In the past, exploration on the hole-board task has been described as the random dispersion of head dipping across holes, while repeated responses into one hole were a sign of stereotypy [39,40]. The results from the inbred strains and the NR1 +/+ and NR1 neo/neo mice suggest that the environmental context, including location, type of olfactory stimuli, and previous experience, should be considered in the interpretation of repeated responses to one or more holes.…”

Chronic administration of THC prevents the behavioral effects of intermittent adolescent MDMA administration and attenuates MDMA-induced hyperthermia and neurotoxicity in rats

“…On the hole-board test, an index of exploratory behavior (Makanjuola et al , 1977) that was performed in Experiment I, the MDMA alone group displayed significantly fewer novel hole entries compared to the controls. Compounds that affect the noradrenergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic systems have all been reported to influence the outcome of the hole-board test (García-Marquez et al , 1987; Makanjuola et al , 1977; Sara et al , 1995).…”

A reverse-translational approach to bipolar disorder: Rodent and human studies in the Behavioral Pattern Monitor

“…Because this classification represents an oversimplification, many investigators have developed additional tests and measures to help differentiate the behavioral profiles of these and other psychoactive drugs. As a consequence, the original Open Field was expanded to include computer-monitored activity chambers based on photobeams or videotracking as well as measures of exploratory behaviors such as rearings or holepokes in holeboard chambers (Berlyne 1966, File and Wardill 1975,Geyer 1990,Geyer and Paulus 1996,Makanjuola et al 1977,Paulus and Geyer 1996. Among others, we developed a computer-monitored activity chamber and called it the rat Behavioral Pattern Monitor (BPM).…”

“…Likewise phencyclidine can raise or lower exploratory levels dependent upon dose (Krebs-Thompson et al 1998). Moreover, while the dopamine releaser amphetamine stimulates exploratory behavior in the holeboard apparatus and BPM, the direct dopamine agonist apomorphine inhibits holepoking behavior (Geyer et al 1986,Makanjuola et al 1977. Similarly, MDMA, a derivative of amphetamine that preferentially releases presynaptic serotonin rather than dopamine, also reduces holepoking and rearing behavior (Gold et al 1988).…”

“…Similarly, MDMA, a derivative of amphetamine that preferentially releases presynaptic serotonin rather than dopamine, also reduces holepoking and rearing behavior (Gold et al 1988). Also, while stereotypy behavior is observed in conjunction with both amphetamine-and apomorphine-induced hyperactivity (Antoniou and Kafetzopoulos 1991,Geyer et al 1986,Gordon and Beck 1984,Rebec and Bashore 1984, higher doses are required for amphetamine-induced stereotypy (Makanjuola et al 1977). Additionally, the type of stereotypy induced by these various psychostimulants differs greatly, with amphetamine at low doses simply producing an exaggerated wide range of activities, while apomorphine produced a more restricted behavioral repertoire (Antoniou and Kafetzopoulos 1991,Geyer et al 1987), and MDMA produced repetitive behaviors that could not be readily scored using the rating scales defined for amphetamine-treated animals (Gold et al 1988).…”