Abstract
Rats of 17, 21, 23, 25 and 30–40 days old (d) were trained on learning an elevated maze (four trials during 2 days) without any deprivation. Atropine was administered either on the first day (experiment I), on both days (experiment II), or before the last trial (experiment III). With 10 mg/kg, adult rats (30–40 d) exhibited disordered hyperactivity and enhanced exploratory behaviour; this effect was not seen with 2.5 mg/kg. Younger rats became drowsy and showed lowered exploratory activity even with smaller doses (0.5, 1, 2.5 and 10 mg/kg); the dose of 0.1 mg/kg was ineffective. At any age, acquisition was delayed in experiment I and abolished in experiment II. Retention of recent learning (experiment III) was entirely blocked in the youngest, weakly impaired in the 23 d-old and not influenced at all in older rats. In all age-groups, atropine induced slower EEG activity. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of a double reticulo-limbic system modulating arousal, and with the caudal-rostral sequence of developement of these systems in the Rat.
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Blozovski, D., Blozovski, M. Effets de l'atropine sur l'exploration, l'apprentissage et l'activité électrocorticale chez le rat au cours du développement. Psychopharmacologia 33, 39–52 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428792
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00428792