Kim J H, Vezina P
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 3077, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Brain Res. 1999 Feb 20;819(1-2):165-9. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(98)01353-5.
The effect on locomotor activity of blocking glutamate reuptake in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was investigated in the rat. Bilateral intracranial microinjections into the NAcc of the selective glutamate reuptake blocker, l-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (PDC), were made in the freely moving rat and locomotor activity subsequently measured for 2 h. Different groups of rats injected with one of three doses of PDC (0.5, 5 or 10 nmole/0.5 microl/side) showed significant dose-dependent increases in both horizontal and vertical locomotor activity relative to control rats that received injections of the saline vehicle. These findings indicate that glutamate in the NAcc plays an important role in the production of locomotor behaviors.
