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  • Title: Alterations in prefrontal glutamatergic and noradrenergic systems following MK-801 administration in rats prenatally exposed to methylazoxymethanol at gestational day 17.
    Author: Léna I, Chessel A, Le Pen G, Krebs MO, Garcia R.
    Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl); 2007 Jun; 192(3):373-83. PubMed ID: 17279373.
    Abstract:
    RATIONALE: Prenatal methylazoxymethanol (MAM) administration at gestational day 17 has been shown to induce in adult rats schizophrenia-like behaviours as well as morphological and/or functional abnormalities in structures such as the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), consistent with human data. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to further characterize the neurochemical alterations associated with this neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed simultaneous measurements of locomotor activity and extracellular concentrations of glutamate, dopamine and noradrenaline in the mPFC and the NAcc of adult rats prenatally exposed to MAM or saline after acute systemic injection of a noncompetitive NMDA antagonist, MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg s.c.). RESULTS: A significant attenuation of the MK-801-induced increase in glutamate levels associated with a potentiation of the increase in noradrenaline concentrations was found in the mPFC of MAM-exposed rats, whereas no significant change was observed in the NAcc. MAM-exposed rats also exhibited an exaggerated locomotor hyperactivity, in line with the exacerbation of symptoms reported in schizophrenic patients after administration of noncompetitive NMDA antagonists. CONCLUSIONS: Given the importance of the mPFC in regulating the hyperlocomotor effect of NMDA antagonists, our results suggest that the prefrontal neurochemical alterations induced by MK-801 may sustain the exaggerated locomotor response in MAM-exposed rats.
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