Behavioural and electroencephalographic effects of systemic injections of 8-OH-DPAT in the pigeon ( Columba livia)

• Published in: Behavioural brain research Vol. 201; no. 2; pp. 244 - 256
• Main Authors: Dos Santos, Murilo Marcos, Hoeller, Alexandre Ademar, dos Santos, Tiago Souza, Felisbino, Manuela Brisot, Herdt, Marcello Alberton, da Silva, Eduardo Simão, Paschoalini, Marta Aparecida, Marino-Neto, José
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 12.08.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: 5-HT 1A receptor; 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin - administration & dosage; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Avian; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Circadian Rhythm - drug effects; Columba livia; Columbidae; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Interactions; EEG; Electroencephalography - drug effects; Exploratory Behavior - drug effects; Feeding Behavior - drug effects; Female; Food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - drug effects; Injections, Intramuscular; Male; Motor Activity - drug effects; Piperazines - pharmacology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pyridines - pharmacology; Serotonin Antagonists - pharmacology; Serotonin Receptor Agonists - administration & dosage; Sleep; Sleep - drug effects; Statistics, Nonparametric; Time Factors; Water intake; 5-HT 1A receptor; Sleep; Food intake; EEG; Water intake; Avian; Hippocampus; Columba livia; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Electroencephalography; Pigeon; Feeding; Encephalon; Vertebrata; 5-HT1A Serotonine receptor; receptor; Animal; Sleep wake cycle; Behavior; Aves; 5-HT
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.02.017

The effects of systemic injections of the 5HT 1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT on the spontaneous ingestive, maintenance, locomotor and sleep-like behaviours, and the sleep/waking-related hippocampal electrographic activity were investigated in pigeons. 8-OH-DPAT (0.06, 0.2, 0.6 or 2.0 mg/kg) was found to dose-dependently reduce food and water intake, acutely (in the first 3 h) and 24 h after treatment, during both low-activity morning hours (starting at 10:00 h) and high-activity evening hours (starting at 14:00 h). Automated 24 h records of food and water intake indicated that hypophagic effects can last up to 18 h after injection. Duration and incidence of sleep-like postures increased at all doses, in both morning and afternoon. These effects were associated with decreases in exploratory and preening activities. The 8-OH-DPAT-induced hypnogenic, hypophagic and hypodipsic effects tended to be more intense in the morning than in the afternoon-trials. Pretreatment with WAY 100635 (a 5-HT 1A antagonist; 0.6 mg/kg) eliminated all of these 8-OH-DPAT-induced effects. WAY 100635 failed to affect feeding when injected alone, but decreased frequency of sleep-like responses and increased the latency to the first sleep-like episode. Hippocampal EEG tracings after 8-OH-DPAT injections (0.6 or 2.0 mg/kg) indicated that the hypnogenic effects are associated with a specific increase in the frequency and duration of slow wave sleep. Power density analysis of the hippocampal EEG failed to show differences between 8-OH-DPAT-induced sleep and the sleep occurring after vehicle injections, indicating that it may be electrographically similar to diurnal sleep episodes in the pigeon. These data suggest that while 5-HT 1a receptor-mediated mechanisms play crucial roles in ingestive and sleep/waking behaviours in mammals and birds, their action upon these states shows substantial inter-taxon variance.