Cerebral oligemic hypoxia and MK-801 treatment: effect on alternation behavior in mice.

ABSTRACT

It is known that glutamatergic system is one of neurotransmitter systems affected by a transiently reduced oxygen supply. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of MK-801, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, on spontaneous alternation in mice exposed to cerebral oligemic hypoxia. Spontaneous alternation behavior and locomotor activity were evaluated using the Y-maze task. Transient cerebral oligemia was induced by bilateral clamping of carotid arteries (BCCA) for 30 min under pentobarbital anesthesia. MK-801 was injected 48 h after BCCA or sham surgery, 30 min before the test session. Treatment with MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg ip) impaired spontaneous alternation both in sham-operated and BCCA mice. MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg ip) significantly enhanced the locomotion of mice. The effects of MK-801 were not exacerbated by BCCA. These results show that cerebral oligemic hypoxia induced by BCCA does not change alternation behavior of mice treated with MK-801.