UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Cerebral dopamine, apomorphine and oral activity in the neonatal pig

Fry, JP; Sharman, DF; Stephens, DB; (1981) Cerebral dopamine, apomorphine and oral activity in the neonatal pig. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics , 4 (3) pp. 193-207. 10.1111/j.1365-2885.1981.tb00730.x.

[thumbnail of Fry_%2C Sharman %26 Stephens 1981.pdf] Text
Fry_%2C Sharman %26 Stephens 1981.pdf
Access restricted to UCL open access staff

Download (1MB)

Abstract

Neonatal piglets in which oral stimulation associated with feeding was reduced by intragastric tube feeding displayed an increase in stereotyped snout rubbing, licking and chewing behaviour. An investigation of a possible neurochemical basis for this behaviour was made by using sensitive radioenzymatic and microfluorimetric assays to estimate the concentrations of the catecholamines and of the dopamine metabolites homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-acetic acid (DOPAC) in different brain regions. These observations revealed that the increased non-nutritive oral activity of such piglets did not appear to be caused by an increased release of dopamine in the brain, since it was not associated with increases in the concentrations of the acidic metabolites of dopamine in either the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the nucleus accumbens, the olfactory tubercle, the hypothalamus, or the substantia nigra. The only neurochemical changes observed were small decreases in the concentration of HVA in the putamen and the nucleus accumbens. A lack of effect on catecholamine concentrations in any of the six brain regions examined suggested that the environmental manipulation caused no changes in the development of catecholamine-containing nerve endings. Subcutaneous injection of apomorphine was found to increase the non-nutritive oral activity of piglets. Apparent conditioning effects of the environment on apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviour however, prevented any satisfactory testing of possible changes in cerebral dopamine receptor sensitivity following reduced oral stimulation.

Type: Article
Title: Cerebral dopamine, apomorphine and oral activity in the neonatal pig
Location: ENGLAND
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2885.1981.tb00730.x
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2885.1981.tb00730...
Language: English
Keywords: 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Apomorphine, Behavior, Animal, Brain Chemistry, Catecholamines, Dopamine, S-Adenosylmethionine, Sucking Behavior, Swine
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Neuro, Physiology and Pharmacology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1317438
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item