Abstract
d-Amphetamine administered to five day old chicks provoked wing droop, postural changes and twittering.
p-Cl-phenylalanine methyl ester (H 69/17) which lowered the content of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the brain to about 30% of control values in chicks of the same age, induced no marked behavioural changes. Pretreatment with H 69/17 protected against the above mentioned effects of d-amphetamine. Simultaneously d-amphetamine induced marked excitation with aggressive behavioural components.
It is concluded a) that the predominant actions of d-amphetamine in newly hatched chicks are mediated via a serotonergic (tryptaminergic) mechanism, which masks the excitatory effects of the drug in this animal species, and b) that there are great similarities, between the behavioural changes seen after d-amphetamine in 5-HT depleted chicks and imipramine in normal chicks.
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Schrold, J., Squires, R.F. Behavioural effects of d-amphetamine in young chicks treated with p-Cl-phenylalanine. Psychopharmacologia 20, 85–90 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404062
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404062