A new system analysis of motor and locomotor activities associated with a microdialysis study of pressure-induced dopamine increase in rats

In this work, we report a new analysis system to quantify the behavioral disorders observed in the model of the rat submitted to high pressure and monitored by piezoelectric sensor. The major advance consists in a spectral 3D representation of LMA and tremor, which provides a better selectivity than previous systems. This behavioral processing indicated that tremor is characterized by a 7-14 Hz frequency band and LMA by a 20-35 Hz frequency band. The association of this system to the microdialysis technique to simultaneously evaluate the striatal DA level confirms that pressure-induced striatal DA increase is in great part linked to the LMA, and supports the concept of a complex ethiology for this symptom. We conclude that this new behavioral system analysis associated with microdialysis study constitutes a powerful tool to investigate the role of different neurotransmitters in the occurrence of the behavioral components described in the HPNS of rats. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.