Biological Determinant of the Behavioral Effects of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors.

摘要

This report deals with a series of studies that are designed to characterize the behavioral effects of organophosphate (OP) cholinesterase inhibitors in rats. Two different schedules of reinforcement were used in these studies. Fixed ratio (FR) responding was used to assess the effects of compounds on high rates of operant responding. A Differential Reinforcement of Low Rate (DRL) schedule was used to evaluate the effects of drugs on relatively low rates of responding that are organized as a function of time. The influence of acute exercise and exercise conditioning on sensitivity to the behavioral effects of OP's determined. In addition, the influence of acute exercise on sensitivity to antimuscarinic drugs and other psychoactive compounds was determined. The effects of chronic exposure to soman, sarin, tabun and VX on sensitivity to other drugs (tolerance/sensitization) were determined. Keywords: Operant behavior; Rats; Soman; Sarin; Tabun; VX; Cross tolerance; Sensitization to antimuscarinic drugs. (kt)