Abstract
The behavioural effects of systemic and intrastriatal injections of the dopamine agonists piribedil and apomorphine in male rats were examined. Bilateral application of piribedil (50 and 100 μg) or apomorphine (5, 10 and 20 μg) to the striatum produced yawning and chewing mouth movements accompanied by intermittent stretching and sexual arousal. Low doses of piribedil (1.25 and 2.5 mg/kg) and apomorphine (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) injected SC produced an identical yawning syndrome. Previous work has suggested that yawning elicited by systemic dopamine agonist treatment is a consequence of dopamine autoreceptor stimulation. Similarly, the most likely explanation of the present data is that yawning elicited by systemic and central dopamine agonist treatment was due to activation of dopamine autoreceptors. Systemic injection of haloperidol and scopolamine abolished yawning induced by intrastriatal piribedil and these data provide tentative support for the proposal that a dopamine-acetylcholine link may be involved in the expression of yawning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baggio G, Ferrari F (1983) The role of dopaminergic receptors in the behavioural effects induced by lisuride in male rats. Psychopharmacology 80:38–42
DiChiara G, Gessa GL (1978) Pharmacology and neurochemistry of apomorphine. In: Garattini S, Goldin A, Hawking F, Kopin IJ (eds) Advances in pharmacology and chemotherapy, vol 15. Academic Press, New York, pp 87–160
Dourish CT (1983) Piribedil: behavioural, neurochemical and clinical profile of a dopamine agonist. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatr 7:3–27
Dourish CT, Dewar KM, Dyck LE, Boulton AA (1983) Potentiation of the behavioural effects of the antidepressant phenelzine by deuterium substitution. Psychopharmacology 81:122–125
Dourish CT, Cooper SJ, Hutson PH (1985) Involvement of the striatum in dopamine agonist-induced yawning. In: Winlow W, Markstein R (eds) The neurobiology of dopamine systems. Manchester University Press (in press)
Ferrari W (1958) Behavioural changes in animals after intracisternal injection with adrenocorticotrophic hormone and melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Nature 181:925–926
Ferrari W, Gessa GL, Vargiu L (1963) Behavioural effects induced by intracisternally injected ACTH and MSH. Ann NY Acad Sci 104:330–343
Gessa GL, Pisano M, Vargiu L, Crabai F, Ferrari W (1967) Stretching and yawning movements after intracerebral injection of ACTH. Rev Can Biol 26:229–236
Goodale DB, Rusterholz DB, Long JP, Flynn JR, Walsh B, Cannon JG, Lee T (1980) Neurochemical and behavioural evidence for a selective presynaptic dopamine receptor agonist. Science 210:1141–1143
Gower AJ, Berendsen HHG, Princen MM, Broekkamp CLE (1984) The yawning-penile erection syndrome as a model for putative dopamine autoreceptor activity. Eur J Pharmacol 103:81–90
Hjorth S, Carlsson A, Wikstrom H, Lindberg P, Sanchez D, Hacksell U, Arvidsson L-E, Svensson U, Nilsson JLG (1981) 3-PPP, a new centrally acting dopamine-receptor agonist with selectivity for autoreceptors. Life Sci 28:1225–1238
Holmgren B, Urba-Holmgren R (1980) Interaction of cholinergic and dopaminergic influences on yawning behaviour. Acta Neurobiol Exp 40:633–642
Hutson PH, Sarna GS, Kantamaneni BD, Curzon G (1985) Monitoring the effect of a tryptophan load on brain indole metabolism in freely moving rats by simultaneous cerebrospinal fluid sampling and brain dialysis. J Neurochem (in press)
Konig JFR, Klippel RA (1963) The rat brain: a stereotaxic atlas of the forebrain and lower parts of the brain stem. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore
Mogilnicka E, Boissard CG, Delini-Stula A (1984) Effects of apomorphine TL-99 and 3-PPP on yawning in rats. Neuropharmacology 23:19–22
Mogilnicka E, Klimek V (1977) Drugs affecting dopamine neurons and yawning behaviour. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 7:303–305
Protais P, Dubuc I, Costentin J (1983) Pharmacological characteristics of dopamine receptors involved in the dual effect of dopamine agonists on yawning behaviour in rats. Eur J Pharmacol 94:271–280
Serra G, Fratta W, Collu M, Napoli-Farris L, Gessa GL (1983a) Cycloheximide prevents apomorphine-induced yawning, penile erection and genetal grooming in rats. Eur J Pharmacol 86:279–284
Serra G, Collu M, Loddo S, Celasco G, Gessa GL (1983b) Hypophysectomy prevents yawning and penile erection but not hypomotility induced by apomorphine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 19:917–919
Stahle L, Ungerstedt U (1984) Assessment of dopamine autoreceptor agonist properties of apomorphine (+)-3-PPP and (-)-3-PPP by recording of yawning behaviour in rats. Eur J Pharmacol 98:307–310
Urba-Holmgren R, Gonzalez RM, Holmgren B (1977) Is yawning a cholinergic response? Nature 267:261–262
Yamada K, Furukawa T (1980) Direct evidence for involvement of dopaminergic inhibition and cholinergic activation in yawning. Psychopharmacology 67:39–43
Yamada K, Furukawa T (1981) The yawning elicited by α-melanocyte stimulating hormone involves serotonergic-dopaminergic-cholinergic neuron link in rats. Naunyn Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol 316:155–160
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dourish, C.T., Cooper, S.J. & Philips, S.R. Yawning elicited by systemic and intrastriatal injection of piribedil and apomorphine in the rat. Psychopharmacology 86, 175–181 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431705
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00431705