Effects of negative allosteric modulators of gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptors on complex behavioral processes in monkeys.

A multiple schedule of repeated acquisition and performance of conditional discriminations was used to characterize the effects of two negative allosteric modulators of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor (ethyl beta-carboline-3-carboxylate [beta-CCE] and N-methyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxamide [FG-7142]), a hallucinogenic beta-carboline derivative (harmine), a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist (flumazenil) and a positive allosteric modulator (alprazolam). In the acquisition component, subjects acquired a different discrimination each session. Acquisition of a discrimination was defined by a decrease in errors as the session progressed. In the performance component, the discrimination was the same each session. Responding in both components was maintained by food presentation under a variable-ratio schedule. Incorrect responses in both components produced a 5-sec timeout. Alprazolam (0.1-18 mg/kg), beta-CCE (0.01-0.32 mg/kg), FG-7142 (0.1-18 mg/kg) and harmine (0.1-1.8 mg/kg) all dose-dependently decreased response rate in both components. However, accuracy of responding-was differentially affected by the drugs. Alprazolam selectively and dose-dependently increased percent errors in acquisition, whereas beta-CCE increased acquisition errors only at the highest doses tested in each subject. In contrast, FG-7142 and harmine had no effects on percent errors at doses that virtually eliminated responding. In all cases, performance accuracy was generally not affected. Flumazenil, at doses that had little or no effect (0.1 and 0.32 mg/kg) or occasionally decreased response rates (1 mg/kg) when administered alone, dose-dependently antagonized the rate-decreasing and error-increasing effects of beta-CCE, FG-7142 and alprazolam. In contrast, flumazenil failed to antagonize the effects of harmine. Thus, the negative allosteric modulators only moderately disrupted acquisition in comparison with the positive allosteric modulator, but the effects of both types of modulator were antagonized by the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil.

Effects of convulsant and anticonvulsant agents on memory in squirrel monkeys.

1. It has been reported that subconvulsive doses of convulsant agents such as strychnine and pentylenetetrazole can enhance memory in rodents studied under various behavioral procedures. The present study was designed to determine if similar results might be obtained in squirrel monkeys. 2. Responding by squirrel monkeys was maintained by food presentation under a repeated acquisition of behavioral chains procedure. Each subject acquired a different three-response chain each session. 3. Sequence completions were reinforced under a fixed-ratio 5 schedule (FR 5) and errors produced a brief timeout. After the subject reached a predetermined acquisition criterion, the session was stopped and a 24 hr delay was interposed. Following the delay, the subject was retested on the same discrimination and retention was quantified as percent savings. 4. When administered immediately after the subject reached the acquisition criterion, strychnine (0.0056 -0.18 mg/kg) and pentylenetetrazole (0.32-42 mg/kg) neither enhanced nor disrupted percent savings under the 24 hour delay. Similarly, the delta opioid agonist, BW373U86 (0.0056-3.2 mg/kg) [(+/-)-4 -((alpha-R*)-alpha-((2S*,5R*)-4-allyl-2,5-dimethyl -1-piperazinyl)-3-hydroxybenzyl)-N,N-diethylbenzamide dihydrochloride], had little or no effect on percent savings following a 24 hr delay. This was true even at doses of BW373U86 which produced convulsions. In contrast, triazolam (1-1.8 mg/kg) decreased percent savings following the 24 hr delay at doses which had little or no effect on response rate. 5. These results suggest that at subconvulsive doses, convulsant agents have little or no effect on memory storage, while at higher doses agents such as triazolam can disrupt memory processes in squirrel monkeys.

Effects of scopolamine on learning and memory in monkeys.

The effects of scopolamine were evaluated in monkeys responding under operant procedures designed to evaluate drug effects on learning and memory. In one procedure, responding was maintained by food presentation under a multiple schedule. One component of the multiple schedule was a repeated-acquisition task in which the discriminative stimuli for left- and right-key responses changed each session (learning). In the other component, the discriminative stimuli for responses were the same each session (performance). In both components of the multiple schedule, scopolamine produced dose-related decreases in responding; there was little evidence of differential rate-decreasing effects between components. Percent errors in learning were increased in a dose-related manner, whereas percent errors in performance were generally unaffected except at high doses, which also produced substantial decreases in response rate. These results suggest that acquisition is more sensitive to the disruptive effects of scopolamine than is performance. The second procedure utilized repeated acquisition and delayed performance as a technique to study the effects of scopolamine on memory. In this procedure, each session was divided into three phases: acquisition, delay and performance. After a 24-h delay, scopolamine had little or no effect on retention, accuracy or rate of responding. In contrast, after a 60-min delay, scopolamine decreased retention in a dose-related manner. These data suggest that scopolamine produces a greater disruptive effect on short (60-min) versus long (24-h) delays.

Comparison of the effects of full and partial allosteric modulators of GABA(A) receptors on complex behavioral processes in monkeys.

Two baselines involving a repeated acquisition task were used to assess the effects of bretazenil, imidazenil, and triazolam. The first baseline was a multiple schedule of repeated acquisition and performance of conditional discriminations. In the first component, the subject acquired a four-response chain by responding sequentially on three keys in the presence of different combinations of colors and geometric forms displayed on a center key. Acquisition of the discrimination was defined by a decrease in errors as the session progressed. In the performance component, the four-response chain was the same each session. Incorrect responses in either component produced a 5s time out during which responding had no programmed consequence. The second procedure, which has been used to evaluate the effects of drugs on memory, involved the acquisition of a discrimination, followed by a 1h delay and a retest of the same discrimination to assess retention. Triazolam (0.32 and 0.56mg/kg) administered alone, produced dose-related decreases in response rate in each component. In addition, triazolam also produced a dose-related increase in percentage errors in acquisition with no effect in performance. Triazolam (0.32mg/kg) eliminated retention (0 percent savings) in the memory task. Bretazenil (0.1-5.6mg/kg) or imidazenil (0.1-1.8mg/kg) administered alone had little or no effect on either rate of responding or accuracy in either component. Furthermore, bretazenil but not imidazenil disrupted retention at the higher doses tested. The combination of imidazenil or bretazenil with triazolam produced dose-related attenuation of the disruptive effects of triazolam on both behavioral baselines. These data suggest that the disruptive effects of benzodiazepines on learning and memory may be a function of the intrinsic efficacy of these compounds at different GABA(A) receptor subtypes.

Effects of kappa agonists and dexoxadrol on the acquisition of conditional discriminations in monkeys.

In each of two components of a multiple schedule, patas monkeys were required to respond on a right or left lever depending upon the stimulus combination (a color and a geometric form) presented. Reinforcement of a response in the presence of one stimulus (the form) was conditional upon the other stimulus (the color). The completion of a two-member chain of discriminations produced a food pellet. Errors produced a brief timeout. One component of the multiple schedule was a repeated-acquisition task in which the discriminative stimuli for left- and right-lever responses changed each session (learning). In the other component, the discriminative stimuli were the same each session (performance). Dose-effect curves were determined for the kappa agonists bremazocine, tifluadom, ethylketocyclazocine and U50488H. Each drug produced dose-related decreases in overall response rate but had little or no effect on accuracy in either learning or performance. The rate-decreasing effects of ethylketocyclazocine and tifluadom were due to a dose-related pause at the start of the session, whereas those of bremazocine and U50488 were due largely to sporadic pausing throughout the session. Naltrexone blocked the effects of each drug whereas quaternary naltrexone had no effect. In contrast to the kappa agonists, dexoxadrol produced a dose-related disruption in accuracy of responding in learning. Dexoxadrol also decreased response rate in both acquisition and performance in a dose-related manner. Naltrexone attenuated the effects of low doses of dexoxadrol on accuracy, but failed to block the disruptive effects of higher doses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)