Martins A P, Marras R A, Guimarães F S
Department of Pharmacology, FMRP, SP, Brazil.
Depress Anxiety. 2000;12(2):99-101. doi: 10.1002/1520-6394(2000)12:2<99::AID-DA6>3.0.CO;2-Q.
Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is anxiogenic when microinjected into the dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG). Microinjection of alpha-helical-CRH9-41 (0.5 microgram), a CRH receptor antagonist, however, failed to change anxiety levels. The objective of this study was to verify if this compound has any effect in the anxiogenic behavior of rats submitted to 4 hr of restraint stress 24 hr before the test in an elevated plus maze. Results showed that stressed rats had a decreased exploration of open arms without changing the number of enclosed arm entries. The stress effect was reversed by intra-DPAG injection of alpha-helical-CRH9-41 (0.5 microgram). These results suggest that the anxiogenic behavior of rats previously stressed by forced immobilization might involve facilitation of CRH-mediated neurotransmission in the DPAG.
促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）微量注射到中脑导水管周围灰质背侧（DPAG）时会产生致焦虑作用。然而，微量注射α-螺旋-CRH9-41（0.5微克），一种CRH受体拮抗剂，未能改变焦虑水平。本研究的目的是验证该化合物对在高架十字迷宫试验前24小时经受4小时束缚应激的大鼠的致焦虑行为是否有任何影响。结果表明，应激大鼠对开放臂的探索减少，而封闭臂进入次数没有改变。DPAG内注射α-螺旋-CRH9-41（0.5微克）可逆转应激效应。这些结果表明，先前因强迫固定而应激的大鼠的致焦虑行为可能涉及DPAG中CRH介导的神经传递的促进作用。
