BEHAVIORAL-EFFECTS OF INTRACEREBRAL ADMINISTRATION OF LUTEINIZING-HORMONE-RELEASING HORMONE (LHRH) IN RATS

The effects of LHRH intracerebrally infused on acquisition of conditioned avoidance responses (CARs) and spontaneous motility were studied in adult male rats. The results were the following: 1) LHRH (1 and 2.5-mu-g/rat) administered through a cannula stereotaxically implanted into the lateral ventricle induced an impairment in the acquisition of CARs along with an increase in global motility, rearing, head shaking and grooming behavior; 2) LHRH 1-mu-g/rat injected into the hippocampus or nucleus accumbens induced also an impairment in acquisition which is evident 15 min after treatment. In contrast, intrastriatal injection induced an immediate disruption of this behavior; and 3) there is a good dose-response relationship for intrastriatal LHRH between 7.8 and 62.5 ng/rat. The results suggest that the estriatum could be the locus of the LHRH-induced inhibition of CARs. Then the possibility of an involvement of the dopamine nigrostriatal system is discussed.