Abstract
We have previously shown that, in AKR and C57BL/6 mice, a genetic polymorphism results in differential expression of the peptide, calcitonin gene-related polypeptide (CGRP), explaining a strain difference in thermal pain sensitivity. Although CGRP is widely distributed in the brain, little is known about the effects of supraspinal CGRP. We used AKR and C57BL/6 mice as a model to explore the effects of centrally (intracerebroventricular) injected CGRP and the CGRP receptor antagonists, CGRP8–37 and BIBN4096BS, in a series of behavioral assays. Locomotor activity was significantly increased in C57BL/6 mice following the injection of BIBN4096BS and in both strains after the administration of CGRP8–37 into the third ventricle. CGRP increased paw-withdrawal latencies in C57BL/6 mice only, while decreasing depression-like behaviors in both strains in the forced-swimming test. CGRP and CGRP receptor antagonists failed to modulate activity in the elevated plus maze, a model of anxiety. Taken together, these results suggest a complex role for supraspinal CGRP systems in the regulation of locomotion, nociception, and depression-like behaviors.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (R.Q., J.S.M.), the US National Institutes of Health (J.S.M.), and the German Exchange Service (A.S.P.).
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Schorscher-Petcu, A., Austin, JS., Mogil, J.S. et al. Role of Central Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) in Locomotor and Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors in Two Mouse Strains Exhibiting a CGRP-Dependent Difference in Thermal Pain Sensitivity. J Mol Neurosci 39, 125–136 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-009-9201-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-009-9201-z