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British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1993 Apr;108(4):858–860. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1993.tb13477.x

Inhibition by N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester of the electrocortical arousal response in rats.

G Bagetta 1, M Iannone 1, C Del Duca 1, G Nisticò 1
PMCID: PMC1908148  PMID: 8485627

Abstract

In rats chronically implanted with cannulae into one lateral cerebral ventricle and recording electrodes onto the fronto-parietal cortex, the effects of systemic or intraventricular administration of the nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor, N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), on electrocortical (ECoG) arousal response evoked by sound stimulation were studied. In control animals, a single acoustic stimulation (80 dB for 15 s) produced a significant decrease in ECoG total voltage power lasting approximately 25 s. No tolerance developed after repeating the same sound stimulation at 15, 30, 60 min and 24 h intervals. Under these experimental conditions, pretreatment with L-NAME, given systemically (10 mg kg-1, i.p.) or intracerebroventricularly (300 micrograms), significantly reduced the sound-evoked arousal response 1 h and 15 min later, respectively. In conclusion, the present data are in favour of a physiological role of NO in the control of arousal mechanisms.

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Selected References

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