Pharmaco-ethological analysis of social behaviour of isolated mice.

The ethological profile of some neuropharmacological substances affecting catecholamines, serotonin and GABA was investigated in isolated mice. Changes in brain noradrenergic, dopaminergic or serotonergic systems, in addition to a block of the inhibitory GABA system, caused "irrepressible" aggression and a lack of sociability in isolated mice. GABA analogues (phenibut, phenylpyrrolidon) and GABA agonists reduce aggression and increase intraspecies sociability; small doses of GABA antagonists (picrotoxin, bicuculline) exert the opposite effect. GABA may play a key part in the control of aggression and sociability in isolated animals. Selective activation of intraspecies sociability with a concurrent reduction of species-specific aggression requires complex pharmacological action.