The effect of phencyclidine on [3H]GABA and [3H]flunitrazepam binding in the brain of naive and handling-habituated rats.

The effects of handling and handling combined with phencyclidine (PCP) treatment on GABAergic neurotransmission were studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. The animal material consisted of handling-habituated (HH, for 11 d), acutely handled (naive, N), handling-habituated and PCP-treated (10 mg kg-1 i.p., HH + PCP) and acutely handled (naive) PCP-treated (N + PCP) and unhandled 'control' rats. The binding of [3H]GABA and [3H]flunitrazepam (FLU) was studied with membranes and the release of [3H]GABA with slices prepared from the striatum and frontal cortex. In the striatum the maximal binding capacity (Bmax) and the binding constant (KD) of [3H]GABA were the same in N and HH rats, but in the frontal cortex KD was lower in N rats. KD constants of [3H]FLU were significantly lower in both brain areas in N rats than in HH rats. After PCP treatment both Bmax and KD for [3H]FLU increased in these two brain areas in handling-habituated rats, whereas Bmax of [3H]GABA diminished. Neither handling nor PCP had any effect on [3H]GABA release from striatal and frontal cortical slices. Handling prior to killing thus affects differently the GABAergic parameters studied and modulates the PCP-induced effects.