The effects of physostigmine on the oxygen uptake in rat brain tissue.

Physostigmine in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg i.v. expressly stimulated the oxygen uptake in the rat cerebral cortex. This effect was blocked by propranolol and seems be mediated by catecholamines. Since atropine also antagonized the stimulant effect of physostigmine, it appears that the action of physostigmine is primarily cholinergic and that the adrenergic effect is a secondary phenomenon. The higher dose of physostigmine (0.4 mg/kg i.v.) caused a depression of rat brain oxygen uptake.