A parametric study of the effects of the noradrenaline neurotoxin DSP4 on avoidance acquisition and noradrenaline neurones in the CNS of the rat.

The effects of various doses of DSP4 on two-way active avoidance acquisition in rats and on central noradrenaline neurones were compared. Doses of DSP4 from 3 mg kg-1 i.p. and upwards injected one week before the onset of the avoidance trials significantly impaired two-way avoidance learning. The learning impairment caused by DSP4 (50 mg kg-1 i.p.) lasted for at least 10 weeks. Desipramine (20 mg kg-1) injected either 30 or 60 min before DSP4 (50 mg kg-1) antagonized the active avoidance impairment. A high dose of DSP4 (50 mg kg-1 i.p.) produced profound decreases in dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity in the frontal cortex and in the concentrations of noradrenaline in various brain regions indicating degeneration of the locus coeruleus noradrenaline system. Low doses of DSP4 (3 and 6 mg kg-1 i.p.) produced small but significant decrease in the concentrations of noradrenaline (NA) in some regions, e.g. cerebral cortex, hippocampus, olfactory bulb and spinal cord. The avoidance impairment caused by the low dose of DSP4 (3 mg kg-1) was absent when rats were tested 10 weeks after treatment nor was NA depletion present when NA was analysed 3 months after treatment.