Figure 4.

(A) Effect of anaesthesia, i.c.v. injection of vehicle or U0126 on spontaneous locomotor behaviour in open field. All treatments were conducted 30 min before the test. Total distance moved was measured for 10 min using a video-based Ethovision System (Nodulus, Wageningen, The Netherlands) as described in Methods. Data represent means ± SEM (n= 7 per group). Normal, group without any treatment; Isoflurane, group treated with a mixture of N₂O and O₂ (70:30) containing 2% isoflurane for 5 min; Isoflurane + vehicle (i.c.v.), group treated with 5 µL of 0.2% DMSO solution by i.c.v. injection under a mixture of N₂O and O₂ (70:30) containing 2% isoflurane within 5 min; Isoflurane + U0126 (i.c.v.), group treated with 1 nmol of U0126 in 5 µL of 0.2% DMSO solution by i.c.v. injection under the same anaesthetic conditions. (B) Effect of U0126 on the memory performances in the passive avoidance task. U0126 (0.5, 1, 2 or 4 nmol in 5 µL, i.c.v.) was injected 30 min before acquisition trial of the passive avoidance task. The control animals were treated with vehicle solution (0.2% DMSO solution) in the same manner. Data represent means ± SEM (n= 7 per group). *P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated controls.