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Mode of action of apomorphine and dexamphetamine on gnawing compulsion in rats

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Summary

The effects of dopa, apomorphine and dexamphetamine on compulsive gnawing behavior were studied in rats pretreated with α-methyl-dopa, α-methyl-tyrosine and iproniazid.

From the data obtained by the present experiments the following conclusions can be drawn:

  1. 1.

    The action of apomorphine on gnaw compulsion is, just as that of dopamine, directly on effect receptors.

  2. 2.

    Dexamphetamine has an indirect action on gnawing behaviour, which is not mediated by noradrenaline or serotonin release, but most probably by the release of endogenous dopamine.

  3. 3.

    The presence of OH-groups at the para and meta-positions of the phenol-ring in the phenol-ethylamine configuration is obligatory for a direct action on gnawing behavior, whereas in the absence of OH- groups an indirect action remains possible.

  4. 4.

    Apomorphine may act as a substitute for dopamine deficiency in Parkinson's disease.

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  1. Department of Pharmacology Medical Faculty, University of Utrecht, Vondellaan 6, Utrecht, the Netherlands

    A. M. Ernst

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  1. A. M. Ernst
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Ernst, A.M. Mode of action of apomorphine and dexamphetamine on gnawing compulsion in rats. Psychopharmacologia 10, 316–323 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403900

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403900

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