Motor activity and quantitative autoradiographic analysis of muscarinic receptors in the brain of rats subjected to the forced swimming test

A cholinergic dysfunction has been involved in the neurobiological mechanisms of stress and depression. In the present study, we determined the autoradiographic distribution of muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the brain of rats subjected to the forced swimming test for 15 days. Motor activity was automatically analyzed daily before swimming. In the forced swimming test group, both total horizontal activity and ambulatory movements exhibited a significant decrease, when the data from Ist and 15th day were compared. Neither the affinity of [H-3]-quinuclidinyl benzilate nor the maximal number of receptors were affected by the forced swimming test in the caudate-putamen, cortex, and hippocampus. The distribution of [H-3]-quinuclidinyl benzilate binding sites did not show significant differences in the 30 analyzed areas. Further analysis of muscarinic receptor subtypes after forced swimming test would be necessary to discard any cholinergic involvement. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.