Spinal alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors mediate facilitation and inhibition of spinal motor transmission, respectively.

The role of descending noradrenergic fibers in the spinal motor systems was investigated using spinal reflexes in acutely spinalized rats. In rats pretreated with the MAO inhibitor clorgyline-HCl (1 mg/kg, i.v.), L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) (5 mg/kg, i.v.), a precursor of dopamine and noradrenaline, markedly potentiated the mono- (MSR) and polysynaptic reflexes (PSR). Selective blockade of alpha 1-adrenoceptors by pretreatment with prazosin-HCl abolished these facilitatory effects on the MSR and the PSR and revealed the inhibitory effect of L-dopa on the PSR. The depression of PSR was antagonized by the alpha 2-antagonist piperoxan. Clonidine-HCl (0.05 mg/kg, i.v.), a so-called alpha 2-agonist, and tizanidine-HCl (0.1 mg/kg, i.v.) decreased the MSR and the PSR in rats pretreated with prazosin. These inhibitions were antagonized by piperoxan. These results suggest that alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenoceptors mediate facilitation and attenuation of motor transmission in the rat spinal cord, respectively.