Summary
In order to determine the influence of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) on the sensorimotor function of the frontal cortex (FCx) of the rat, GABA at various concentrations (10, 50 or 100 μg · μl-1) was administered into these structures. GABA was infused for four consecutive days after which saline was infused for another four. On the contralateral side the order of administration was reversed. Each structure received GABA while its homologous on the contralateral side received saline. Before, during and after drug infusion, the animals were weighed and their performance in two non-reinforced behavioral tasks (beam walking and spontaneous rotation) was examined. When GABA was infused into the FCx, a dose-dependent and reversible sensorimotor deficit was observed along with a behavioral withdrawal syndrome upon GABA discontinuation. When GABA was administered into the NBM, a reversible sensorimotor deficit was observed only when GABA was infused at the highest concentration. In this case no behavioral changes were observed upon GABA discontinuation. Histologically, a gliosis was observed in the NBM in which GABA was infused at the two highest concentrations without saline pretreatment; these effects were not observed when GABA was infused without saline pretreatment into the FCx. In relation to our previous findings, these results suggest that i) the FCx is directly involved in the expression of sensorimotor functions, while the influence of the NBM on these functions appears only after severe subcortical damage, ii) a GABA withdrawal syndrome is observed following GABA administration in the FCx but not in the NBM, and iii) “tonic” effects of GABA are dose-related and partially dependent upon pretreatment conditions and the brain region infused.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avemo A, Antelman S, Ungerstedt U (1973) Rotational behavior after unilateral frontal cortex lesions in the rat. Acta Physiol Scand Suppl 396: 77
Brailowsky S, Knight RT (1987) Recovery from GABA-mediated hemiplegia in young and aged rats: effects of catecholaminergic manipulations. Neurobiol Aging 8: 441–447
Brailowsky S, Knight RT, Blood K, Scabini D (1986) γ-aminobutyric acid-induced potentiation of cortical hemiplegia. Brain Res 362: 322–330
Brailowsky S, Kunimoto M, Menini C, Silva-Barrat C, Riche D, Naquet R (1988) The GABA-withdrawal syndrome: a new model of focal epileptogenesis. Brain Res 442: 175–179
Casamenti F, Deffenu G, Abbamondi AL, Pepeu G (1986) Changes in cortical acetylcholine output induced by modulation of the nucleus basalis. Brain Res Bull 16: 689–695
Dacey DM, Grossman SP (1977) Aphasia, adipsia and sensory-motor deficits produced by amygdala lesions: a function of extra-amygdaloid damage. Physiol Behav 19: 389–395
Dalrymple-Alford JC, Kelche C, Cassel JC, Toniolo G, Pallage V, Will B (1987) Behavioral deficits after intrahippocampal septal grafts in rats with selective fimbria-fornix lesions. Exp Brain Res 69: 545–559
Di Scala G, Meneses S, Brailowsky S (1990) Chronic infusions of GABA into the medial frontal cortex of the rat induce a reversible delayed spatial alternation deficit. Behav Brain Res 40: 81–84
Dunnett SB, Lane DM, Winn P (1985) Ibotenic acid lesions of the lateral hypothalamus: comparison with 6-hydroxydopamine induced sensorimotor deficits. Neurosci 14: 509–518
Dunnett SB, Whishaw IQ, Jones GH, Bunch ST (1987) Behavioral, biochemical and histochemical effects of different neurotoxic amino acids-injected into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis of rats. Neurosci 20: 653–669
Feeney D, Gonzalez A, Law W (1982) Amphetamine, haloperidol, and experience interact of affect rate of recovery after motor cortex injury. Science 217: 855–857
Fisher RS, Buchwald NA, Hull CD, Levine MS (1988) GABAergic basal forebrain neurons project to the neocortex: the localization of glutamic acid decarboxylase and choline acetyltransferase in feline corticopetal neurons. J Comp Neurol 272: 489–502
Fisher RS, Levine MS (1989) Transmitter cosynthesis by corticopetal basal forebrain neurons. Brain Res 491: 163–168
Gioanni Y, Lamarche M (1985) A reappraisal of rat motor cortex organization by intracortical microstimulation. Brain Res 344: 49–61
Ingham CA, Bolam JP, Smith AD (1988) GABA-immunoreactive synaptic boutons in the rats basal forebrain: comparison of neurons that project to the neocortex with pallidosubthalamic neurons. J Comp Neurol 273: 263–282
Johnston MV, McKinney M, Coyle JT (1979) Evidence for a cholinergic projection to neocortex from neurons in basal forebrain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76: 5392–5396
Lamour Y, Dutar P, Jobert A (1982) Topographic organization of basal forebrain neurons projecting to the rat cerebral cortex. Neurosci Lett 34: 117–122
Le Gal la Salle G, Brailowsky S, Menini C, Naquet R (1988) Local asymptomatic status epilepticus induced by withdrawal of GABA infusion into limbic structures. Exp Neurol 101: 411–417
Lehman J, Nagy JI, Atmadja S, Fibiger HC (1980) The nucleus basalis magnocellularis: the origin of a cholinergic projection to the neocortex of the rat. Neuroscience 5: 1161–1174
Levine MS, Ferguson N, Kreinick CJ, Gustafson JW, Schwartzbaum JS (1971) Sensorimotor dysfunctions and aphagia and adipasia following pallidal lesions in rats. J Comp Physiol Psychol 77: 282–293
Majchrzak M, Brailowsky S, Will B (1990) Chronic infusion of GABA and saline into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis of rats. II. Cognitive impairments. Behav Brain Res 37: 45–56
Paxinos G, Watson C (1986) The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates. Academic Press New York
Rigdon GC, Pirch JH (1984) Microinjection of procaine or GABA into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis affects cue-elicited unit responses in the rat frontal cortex. Exp Neurol 85: 283–296
Sanderson KJ, Welker W, Shambres GM (1984) Reevaluation of motor cortex and sensorimotor overlap in cerebral cortex of albino rats. Brain Res 292: 251–260
Sapienza S, Talbi B, Jacquemin J and Albe-Fessard D (1981) Relationship between input and output of cells in motor and somatosensory cortices of the chronic awake rat. Exp Brain Res 43: 47–56
Silva-Barrat C, Chanpagnat J, Brailowsky S, Menini C, Naquet R (1989) Relationship between tolerance to GABAA agonists and bursting properties in neocortical neurons during GABA withdrawal syndrome. Brain Res 498: 289–298
Wenk GL (1984) Pharmacological manipulation of the substantia innominata-cortical cholinergic pathway. Neurosci Lett 51: 99–103
Whishaw IQ, O'Connor WT, Dunnett SB (1985) Disruption of central cholinergic systems in the rat basal forebrain lesions or atropine: effects on feeding, sensorimotor behaviour, locomotor activity and spatial navigation. Behav Brain Res 17: 103–115
Will BE, Toniolo G, Brailowsky S (1988) Unilateral infusion of GABA and saline into the nucleus basalis of rats. I. Effects on motor function and brain morphology. Behav Brain Res 27: 123–129
Wood PL (1985) Pharmacological evaluation of GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs to the nucleus basalis-cortical and the septal-hippocampal cholinergic projections. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 64: 325–328
Wood PL, Richard J (1982) GABAergic regulation of the substantia innominata-cortical cholinergic pathway. Neuropharmacology 21: 969–972
Wozniak DF, Stewart GR, Finger S (1989) Comparison of behavioral effects of nucleus basalis magnocellularis lesions and somatosensory cortex ablation in the rat. Neuroscience 32: 685–700
Zilles K (1988) The cortex of the rat. A stereotaxic atlas. Springer, Berlin 13–20
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Majchrzak, M., Brailowsky, S. & Will, B. Chronic infusion of GABA into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis or frontal cortex of rats: a behavioral and histological study. Exp Brain Res 88, 531–540 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00228182
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00228182