ABSTRACT
Mexidol (100 and 200 mg/kg) and diazepam (1 and 2 mg/kg) exhibit a dose-dependent antistressor effect in the pain expectation stress test in rats (conditional emotional reflex). The effect is manifested by the normalization of both motor and somatovegetative characteristics. Paracetamol in a dose of 50 and 100 mg/kg does not possess antistressor properties. Both mexidol and paracetamol increase the threshold of pain sensitivity in the test with electric stimulation of tail in rats. Diazepam does not reduce the pain threshold in this test. The combined administration of mexidol or diazepam with paracetamol does not change the antistressor effect as compared to that of each drug alone. Mexidol, but not diazepam, enhances the effect of paracetamol on the pain threshold.
Subject(s)
Acetaminophen/therapeutic use , Analgesics, Non-Narcotic/therapeutic use , Antidepressive Agents/therapeutic use , Diazepam/therapeutic use , Pain/drug therapy , Picolines/therapeutic use , Stress, Psychological/drug therapy , Acetaminophen/administration & dosage , Analgesics, Non-Narcotic/administration & dosage , Animals , Antidepressive Agents/administration & dosage , Diazepam/administration & dosage , Drug Therapy, Combination , Electric Stimulation , Male , Pain Threshold/drug effects , Picolines/administration & dosage , RatsABSTRACT
It is established that bicuculline, picrotoxin, and flumazenil (agents blocking different sites of GABA receptor) decrease the anxiolytic effect of piracetam as manifested in the conflict situation test. The most pronounced interaction was observed between piracetam and flumazenyl. On the background of antagonist action, piracetam inhibited the effects of flumazenil (but not those of bicuculline and picrotoxin). Based on these data, it is assumed that the anxiolytic effect of piracetam is mediated to some extent by benzodiazepine site of the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex.
Subject(s)
Anti-Anxiety Agents/pharmacology , Flumazenil/pharmacology , GABA Modulators/pharmacology , GABA-A Receptor Antagonists , Nootropic Agents/pharmacology , Piracetam/pharmacology , Animals , Anti-Anxiety Agents/antagonists & inhibitors , Drug Antagonism , Flumazenil/antagonists & inhibitors , GABA Modulators/antagonists & inhibitors , Male , Nootropic Agents/antagonists & inhibitors , RatsABSTRACT
A special program package has been developed for input the results of visual monitoring of the behavior of animals during the Porsolt (forced swim) test, open field test, elevated cross labyrinth test, and passive avoidance reflex test into a personal computer (PC) for the subsequent data processing. According to the adopted procedure, all behavioral events are registered by a researcher using the corresponding keys on the PC keyboard. Then, the program calculates the mean values and their standard deviations and presents the results of data processing in the form of tables and graphs on display. The data can be also printed and stored on disk. The disk files can be imported into other programs (Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, etc.) for further processing. The proposed software facilitates the procedure and increases the accuracy of experiments. The programs were successfully verified in the laboratories of the Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology.
