Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J E Barrett

Publications and source records attributed to J E Barrett.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Pharmacological characterization of LY293284: A 5-HT1A receptor agonist with high potency and selectivity.

(-)-LY293284, (-)-4R-6-acetyl-4-(di-n-propylamino)1,3,4,5- tetrahydrobenz[c,d]indole, is a conformationally restricted tryptamine derivative with an acetyl group serving as a protophilic substitution for the hydroxyl in serotonin (5-HT). In ligand displacement studies, LY293284 had a Ki of 0.07 nM for the 5-HT1A receptor but no affinity for other monoaminergic receptors within 3 orders of magnitude. LY293284 was evaluated in in vivo models, which have been used as markers for presynaptic and postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptor activity. LY293284 decreased hypothalamic 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels (ED50, 2.9 micrograms/kg s.c.) and dorsal raphe serotonergic neuron firing rate (ED50, 0.08 micrograms/kg s.c.), which are accepted indices of presynaptic activity. LY293284 also induced a reduction in body temperature in rats (ED50, 3.6 micrograms/kg s.c.), which was blocked by pretreatment with (+/-)-pindolol. Hypothermic responses of rats to 5-HT1A agonists have had both pre- and postsynaptic characteristics in previous studies. The ED50 values for 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) in these tests were 15 to 45 times higher than those observed for LY293284. In models for postsynaptic activity, the ED50 for LY293284 for elevating serum corticosterone levels was 9.7 micrograms/kg s.c. and the minimum effective doses to induce lower lip retraction and flat posture were 3 micrograms/kg s.c. For comparison, the same indices obtained for 8-OH-DPAT were 222.4 and 100 micrograms/kg, respectively. The 5-HT syndrome responses induced by LY293284 were also attenuated by pretreatment with (+/-)-pindolol. LY293284 was 10 times more potent than 8-OH-DPAT in a drug discrimination test that used pigeons trained to identify 8-OH-DPAT. In sexual behavior tests with male rats, LY293284 induced a maximal reduction in ejaculatory latency at 0.01 micrograms/kg s.c., which was approximately 10 times higher potency than 8-OH-DPAT. In the pigeon conflict model for anxiolytic activity, LY293284 was 100 times more potent than 8-OH-DPAT in increasing punished responding. In the rat forced swim model for antidepressant-like activity, LY293284 was 30 and 35 times more potent than 8-OH-DPAT in decreasing immobility time and defecation rate. These studies have demonstrated that LY293284 is a highly selective and extremely potent 5-HT1A receptor agonist and represents a useful pharmacological tool for studying 5-HT1A receptor-mediated effects.

Animals↗

The role of primary care clinician attitudes, beliefs, and training in the diagnosis and treatment of depression. A report from the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network Inc.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between primary care clinicians' attitudes, beliefs, and training and their perceptions of the importance and frequency of depression. DESIGN: A 56-item questionnaire was mailed to 226 clinicians in the Ambulatory Sentinel Practice Network Inc (ASPN), a primary care research network. SETTING: The ASPN, consisting of 69 primary care practices in the United States and Canada, cares for approximately 350,000 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The degree to which clinician training in depression and clinician attitudes and beliefs about treating depression predict their perceptions of the importance of depression in their primary care practices. RESULTS: Results of path analysis indicate that clinician training in depression, beliefs about the burden and discomfort associated with diagnosing and treating depression, perceptions of their patients' discomfort, and self-efficacy in diagnosing and treating depression are all significantly related to clinician perceptions of whether depression was an important and frequent primary care problem. Further analysis indicates that actual prevalence of depression accounted for little variability in clinicians' beliefs and attitudes about depression. CONCLUSIONS: What clinicians think their patients feel about issues on depression and how they view their own abilities may profoundly influence the degree to which they recognize depression in primary care. Understanding these factors may help explain and subsequently decrease clinician variability in the recognition of depression in primary care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

5-HT receptors as targets for the development of novel anxiolytic drugs: models, mechanisms and future directions.

The introduction of buspirone for the treatment of anxiety, together with the eventual suggestion of a mode of action involving the serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor subtype, has generated considerable research activity and renewed interest in the potential role of 5-HT in anxiety. The further identification of multiple 5-HT1 receptors, coupled with the possibility that these subtypes potentially are involved in discrete biobehavioral regulation and pathophysiological conditions, has greatly expanded the search for tools capable of probing these receptors and has raised hopes for a new generation of more specific compounds to treat other disorders associated with the 5-HT system such as depression, aggression, and sleep and eating disturbances. The involvement of 5-HT in anxiety has prompted a careful reevaluation of several traditional areas of research. This has included those methods used in the in vivo evaluation of drugs in preclinical animal test procedures used to assess potential anxiolytic activity, as well as the mechanisms associated with adaptive changes occurring during long-term drug administration. The proliferation of various procedures for studying the anxiolytic effects of 5-HT drugs has not always been accompanied by systematic behavioral and pharmacological validation. At the present time, this area of research is characterized by numerous inconsistent findings. Procedures that are objective and impartial to the behavioral effects of drugs provide distinct advantages for addressing some of these issues, as will the results from carefully controlled clinical studies. The main objective of this article is to provide an overview of the recent developments in research involving the 5-HT system and anxiety. The emphasis will be on the 5-HT1 receptor system and a review of the results in the predominant animal models used to evaluate these drugs, as well as an overview of the mechanisms currently believed to be responsible for the therapeutic activity of this class of compounds. Studies with the pigeon are reviewed, since this species appears distinctly sensitive to the anxiolytic-like effects of 5-HT1A drugs in conflict procedures. Although chronic administration of 5-HT1A drugs appears necessary for clinical anxiolytic and antidepressant activity, the most noteworthy neuropharmacological effects in animals seem to occur in 5-HT2 and, perhaps, 5-HT3 receptors which are downregulated. Studies summarizing the activity of drugs interacting with 5-HT1C/2 and 5-HT3 receptor sites are also discussed as they too may be involved in anxiety or the actions of anxiolytic drugs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Anticonflict effects of buspirone and chlordiazepoxide in pigeons under a concurrent schedule with punishment and a changeover response.

A procedure was developed with pigeons to extend the experimental analysis of punished behavior and the effects of anxiolytic drugs. Under this procedure the completion of a fixed-ratio requirement on a changeover key switched between two variable-interval schedules of reinforcement that were programmed on a second response key. Under one schedule, correlated with a green keylight, key pecks produced only food; under the second schedule, correlated with a red keylight, key pecks produced both food and electric shock. Pigeons were switched into the component with shock if they did not enter that component within 5 min. Parameter values of the variable-interval schedules were manipulated systematically and the effects of two clinically active anxiolytic drugs, buspirone and chlordiazepoxide, were examined. Responding was suppressed during the component with shock (punishment) and, under non-drug conditions, pigeons infrequently switched into the punishment component; changeover responses occurred rapidly when switched into the punishment component. Both buspirone (0.1-3.0 mg/kg) and chlordiazepoxide (3.0-30 mg/kg) increased punished responding at doses that had little effect on unpunished responding; d-amphetamine (0.3-5.6 mg/kg), which was studied only under one parameter of the variable-interval schedule, produced greater decreases in rates of punished responding than in unpunished responding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

The discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine in pigeons.

Eight White Carneau pigeons were trained to discriminate 1.0 or 1.7 mg/kg of cocaine from saline. A fixed number of consecutive key peck responses on one key after the administration of cocaine resulted in 4-sec access to mixed grain. The same number of consecutive responses on the other key after saline also produced food. Different doses of cocaine and other drugs were tested to determine their ability to substitute (80% or more responding on the cocaine-appropriate key). The test drugs were selected to determine the selectivity of the cocaine discrimination in pigeons as well the role of different monoamines in mediating this behavioral effect. The drugs included other psychomotor stimulants, antidepressants, clonidine, yohimbine, other dopamine (1-(2-[bis(4-fluoro-phenyl)-methoxy]ethyl)4-3-phenylpropyl piperazine, GBR 12909) and serotonin (5-HT, sertraline) reuptake blockers, a D1 (SKF 75670), D2 (quinpirole), and 5-HT1A (8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin, 8-OH-DPAT) agonist as well as the 5-HT3 antagonists, MDL 72222, LY 278584 and ondansetron. In addition, prazosin, an alpha 1 adrenergic antagonist, SCH 23390, a D1 antagonist; raclopride, a D2 antagonist and 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4-[4-(2-phthalimmido)butyl]piperazine (NAN-190), a putative 5-HT1A antagonist, were given in combination with cocaine to determine their ability to block the discriminative stimulus (DS) effects of cocaine, i.e., reduce drug-appropriate responding to 20% or less. The psychomotor stimulants, d-amphetamine and d-methamphetamine, completely substituted for cocaine and were similar in potency to each other and cocaine. The antidepressants I-deprenyl, imipramine, tomoxetine and bupropion also occasioned cocaine-appropriate responding.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Neurochemical effects of 5-HT1 receptor ligands in pigeons.

Pigeon cerebrospinal fluid was assayed for 5-HT (5-hydroxytryptamine) and catecholamine metabolites after systemic drug injection. The 5-HT1-like receptor agonists 8-hydroxy-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), 5-methoxy-3(1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)1H indole (RU 24969), 1-(m-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP), and 1-(3-chlorphenyl)piperazine (mCPP) decreased levels of the 5-HT metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) without altering other metabolites. 5-HIAA decreases occurred at doses of 8-OH-DPAT and RU 24969 that have anti-conflict effects in pigeons, whereas TFMPP and mCPP decreased 5-HIAA only at behaviorally disruptive doses. The novel compound 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-(2-phthalimido)butyl)piperazine (NAN-190), a putative 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, did not affect 5-HIAA, but attenuated the decreases produced by the agonists. NAN-190 and the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin increased levels of the norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol and had additive effects when co-administered. The rank order of potency in inhibiting [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding in pigeon cerebrum was 8-OH-DPAT = RU 24969 > NAN-190 >> mCPP > TFMPP. The results support suggestions that decreased 5-HT neurotransmission underlies the anxiolytic-like effects of 5-HT1A receptor agonists in pigeons.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Discriminative stimulus effects of 8-OH-DPAT in pigeons: antagonism studies with the putative 5-HT1A receptor antagonists BMY 7378 and NAN-190.

Pigeons were trained to discriminate 0.3 mg/kg of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) from saline. RU 24969 (5-methoxy-3-(1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)-1H-indole), at doses of 5.6-10 mg/kg, and eltoprazine (5.6 mg/kg), both mixed 5-HT1A/B agonists, substituted completely for 8-OH-DPAT, whereas 3.0-10 mg/kg of the 5-HT1B/C agonist TFMPP (1-(m-trifluromethylphenyl)piperazine) and 0.1-3.0 of the 5-HT3 antagonist MDL 72222 (3-tropanyl-3,5-dichlorobenzoate) yielded only saline-appropriate responses. Substitution for 8-OH-DPAT by eltoprazine and RU 24969, which does not occur in rats, provides in vivo support for the suggestion that the absence of a 5-HT1B receptor in the pigeon allows more complete expression of 5-HT1A-mediated effects. BMY 7378 (8-[2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl)]8-azaspirol-[4.5]- decane-7,9-dione) attenuated the 8-OH-DPAT stimulus at doses from 1.0 to 10 mg/kg but, when administered alone, also resulted in approximately 40% 8-OH-DPAT-appropriate responding at the highest dose. NAN-190 (1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4-[4-(2-phthalamido)butyl)-piperazine (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent and complete antagonism of the 8-OH-DPAT-discriminative stimulus; administered alone NAN-190 resulted only in saline-key responding. NAN-190 also reversed the rate-decreasing effects of higher doses of 8-OH-DPAT. The beta-adrenoceptor antagonist (+/-)-pindolol (5.6-17 mg/kg) antagonized the discriminative stimulus effects of lower 8-OH-DPAT doses but was unable to block the effects of higher doses of 8-OH-DPAT. Prazosin (1.0-10 mg/kg), which like NAN-190, is an alpha 1-antagonist, neither substituted for nor blocked the discriminative stimulus effects of 8-OH-DPAT. These results suggest that NAN-190 is an effective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist in this procedure with pigeons, with no indication of agonist actions, whereas BMY 7378 and pindolol are best characterized as partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Historical influences affecting the behavioral actions of abused drugs.

The studies summarized briefly in this chapter provide several examples of experiments in which a behavioral or pharmacologic history produced profound changes in the effects of an abused drug. In many instances these changes were qualitative, that is, the direction of the effects that drug usually has on behavior was modified dramatically. AMPH and cocaine--both of which may normally decrease a particular behavior--will, after a suitable history, produce large increases in the behavior under study. If the behavioral effects of a drug are related to the abuse potential of that drug, then any condition that alters the behavioral effects of that drug could be an important component underlying vulnerability to drug abuse. A noteworthy aspect of the studies that have been described is the lasting influence that prior experience can have on behavior and the behavioral effects of drugs in the absence of overt changes in behavior itself. The traces of past experience may not be apparent in ongoing behavior until a drug is administered. This feature makes drugs an important tool for studying behavioral processes and raises several related questions pertaining to the mechanisms responsible for these effects (Barrett 1986). Although at present there is little information available to answer the several questions raised by these experiments, newer techniques available in the neurosciences promise to help reveal the neurobiological correlates of these changes that should be of general importance in understanding both behavioral and pharmacologic processes.

Animals↗

Antagonism studies with BMY-7378 and NAN-190: effects on 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin-induced increases in punished responding of pigeons.

The purported serotonin (5-HT)1A antagonists BMY-7378 and NAN-190 were examined in pigeons for their potential to block the effects of the prototypical 5-HT1A agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) on punished ("conflict") and unpunished behavior and for their binding affinity at the 5-HT1A receptor site labeled by [3H]-8-OH-DPAT. Although BMY-7378 and NAN-190 both displayed high affinity for the 5-HT1A receptor (IC50 values of 0.8 and 7.5 nM, respectively), their effects, when administered alone, as well as in combination with 8-OH-DPAT, were distinct. 8-OH-DPAT (0.3-3.0 mg/kg) produced large increases in punished responding at doses that did not affect or that decreased unpunished responding. Administration of NAN-190 (1.0-3.0 mg/kg) did not increase punished responding, whereas BMY-7378 (1.0-5.6 mg/kg) slightly increased behavior suppressed by punishment. Pretreatment with BMY-7378 attenuated the rate-increasing effects of 8-OH-DPAT on punished responding; however, these effects were accompanied by dose-dependent enhancement of the rate-decreasing effects of 8-OH-DPAT on unpunished responding. In contrast, NAN-190 blocked the rate-increasing effects of 8-OH-DPAT on punished responding and also reversed the rate-decreasing effects of 8-OH-DPAT on responding that was not punished. Pretreatment with NAN-190 failed to block increases in punished responding produced by 0.1 to 1.0 mg/kg of the benzodiazepine midazolam. These data suggest that NAN-190 may be characterized as an antagonist and BMY-7378 a partial agonist with respect to 5-HT1A-induced behavioral changes observed in the conflict procedure with pigeons.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Punishment of schedule-controlled behavior with beta-carboline injections: antagonism and comparisons with other compounds.

Squirrel monkeys were trained to press a key under a multiple schedule of food presentation. In the presence of either green or red stimulus lights, the 30th response produced a food pellet (fixed-ratio schedule). In the presence of the red stimulus lights (punishment component), the first response of each fixed-ratio produced either an i.v. injection of histamine [30.0-100.0 micrograms/kg/injection (inj)] or saline, accompanied by a 200-msec presentation of amber stimulus lights. Sessions in which histamine was injected alternated with sessions in which saline was injected. Another group of subjects was studied under identical schedule conditions except that electric shock was scheduled with the 200-msec stimulus light. During alternate sessions, electric shock at a high or low intensity with the stimulus, or the stimulus alone was scheduled. When performances stabilized, histamine or high intensity electric shock selectively suppressed responding in the punishment component; saline, low intensity electric shock or the stimulus light alone had no effects. Subsequently, different doses of histamine, I-nicotine, cocaine or beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (beta-CCE) were substituted for histamine during single sessions. Histamine (17.8-100 micrograms/kg/inj), I-nicotine (32 micrograms/kg/inj) and beta-CCE (10-56 micrograms/kg/inj), but not cocaine (10.0-100.0 micrograms/kg/inj), produced a dose-related selective suppression of responding similar to that obtained with electric shock, suggesting that the drugs were functioning as punishers. Punishment by beta-CCE was antagonized with the benzodiazepine antagonist, flumazenil.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Blockade of the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol with 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.

The ability of selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to block the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol was investigated in pigeons trained with food reinforcement to discriminate ethanol (1.5 g/kg; IG) from water. The 5-HT3 receptor antagonists that are substituted tropines, ICS 205-930 (0.1-0.56 mg/kg) and MDL 72222 (3.0-17.0 mg/kg), blocked ethanol-appropriate responding, in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that some of the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol are mediated via the 5-HT3 receptor. The blockade the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol occurred in the presence of approximately 25-40 mM blood ethanol levels. Furthermore, the ethanol dose-effect function was shifted to the right by increasing doses of MDL 72222, suggesting a surmountable antagonism of the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. However, the benzamide zacopride (0.56-1.7 mg/kg), which is also a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, did not block the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol. In addition, the dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol and the 5-HT2 receptor antagonist ketanserin also failed to block the ethanol discrimination. The results suggest that 5-HT3 mediated neurotransmission is an important component of ethanol's discriminative stimulus effects, but that the structural characteristics of the selective 5-HT3 receptor antagonists influence their ability to block this action of ethanol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Involvement of 5-HT1A activity in the discriminative stimulus effects of imipramine.

Pigeons were trained to discriminate the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (3.0 or 5.6 mg/kg) from saline. The selective 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT (0.03-1.0 mg/kg) resulted in dose-dependent increases in responding on the key correlated with imipramine administration. Doses of 8-OH-DPAT from 0.3 to 1.0 mg/kg substituted completely for imipramine. NAN-190 (0.3-3.0 mg/kg), a putative 5-HT1A antagonist with affinity for both 5-HT1A and alpha 1 receptors, blocked the discriminative stimulus effects of imipramine and resulted in saline-key responding. The discriminative stimulus effects of imipramine were also blocked by administration of the alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin, suggesting a dual mediation of imipramine through both 5-HT1A and alpha 1-adrenoreceptor systems. Although antidepressants have not been used frequently as stimuli in drug discrimination studies, it may be possible to arrive at a more complete understanding of their neurochemical and behavioral effects using this procedure.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Evaluation of the effects of PD 134308 (CI-988), a CCK-B antagonist, on the punished responding of squirrel monkeys.

Lever pressing of squirrel monkeys was maintained by a fixed-interval 3-min schedule of food presentation during which every 30th response also produced a brief electric shock. Lever pressing was suppressed during this stimulus (conflict or punishment) compared to that occurring prior to the introduction of shock or, with some monkeys, during an alternate stimulus in which punishment did not occur. PD 134308 (CI-988), administered i.m. (0.03-3.0 mg/kg), increased punished responding but had no effect on non-punished responding. Peak increases of 150% of control occurred at 3.0 mg/kg. There was no indication of sedation at the highest dose of PD 134308 (10.0 mg/kg). By comparison, chlordiazepoxide (1.0-10 mg/kg, i.m.) produced similar effects, except the magnitude of increases in punished responding reached approximately 200% of control performance levels and the higher doses reduced non-punished response rates. PD 134308 produces anxiolytic-like effects in this animal model of anxiety that would suggest potential clinical efficacy in humans of a novel class of compounds with actions at or modulated by cholecystokinin receptors.

Animals↗

Neurochemical changes correlated with behavior maintained under fixed-interval and fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement.

Key pecking of 4 pigeons was maintained under a multiple 3-min fixed-interval, 30-response fixed-ratio schedule of food presentation. Only one schedule was in effect during an experimental session, and each was correlated with a different keylight stimulus and location (left vs. right). The different schedule components alternated across days or weeks. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected from chronically implanted intracerebroventricular cannulae following sessions with the different schedules, as well as following sessions in which reinforcement was withheld (extinction), when response-independent food was delivered, and when the experimental chamber was dark and there were no scheduled events. Metabolites of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine were assayed in cerebrospinal fluid using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Compared to the fixed-ratio condition, responding maintained under the fixed-interval schedule resulted in consistently higher levels of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid in all pigeons. Levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, a metabolite of norepinephrine, and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, another dopamine metabolite, were also higher in 3 of the 4 pigeons following exposure to the fixed-interval schedules when compared to levels of these metabolites after exposure to the fixed-ratio schedule. Extinction of fixed-ratio responding resulted in large increases in 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid compared to levels of this metabolite under the fixed-ratio schedule, whereas this serotonin metabolite decreased during extinction of responding under the fixed-interval schedule. Control procedures suggested that the neurochemical changes were not related to the rate of responding but were a function of the specific experimental conditions. Distinctive neurochemical changes that accompany schedule-controlled responding show the sensitivity of the neurochemical environment to behavioral contingencies and demonstrate further the profound impact that such contingencies have on biobehavioral processes.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

Imipramine as a discriminative stimulus.

The tricyclic antidepressant imipramine was established as a discriminative stimulus in pigeons at two doses (3.0 or 5.6 mg/kg). Because imipramine has multiple effects on different neurotransmitter systems, a range of compounds from several pharmacological classes were tested for substitution. The tricyclic antidepressants desipramine, amitriptyline and doxepin, all of which block serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) reuptake, resulted in imipramine-key responding. The psychomotor stimulants cocaine and d-amphetamine also occasioned responding on the imipramine key, as did the NE reuptake inhibitor tomoxetine; nomifensine, which blocks the reuptake of both NE and dopamine (DA), also resulted in responding on the key correlated with imipramine injections. Bupropion, a DA reuptake inhibitor, resulted in drug key responding but substitution did not occur with another DA uptake inhibitor GBR 12909. The alpha-2 agonist clonidine, the 5-HT2 antagonist ritanserin or the 5-HT reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine also did not occasion drug-key responding. Drug-appropriate responding occurred in pigeons trained at the lower dose of imipramine with the 5-HT1A compounds 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide and gepirone; partial substitution occurred in pigeons trained with the higher dose of imipramine. Substitution for the imipramine stimulus by gepirone, an antidepressant with actions mediated by the 5-HT1A receptor, as well as with 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin hydrobromide, suggests that imipramine may have effects at this receptor site and confirms reports that compounds active at this receptor may have antidepressant activity. This appears to be the first report of the successful, long-term establishment of imipramine as a discriminative stimulus without the development of toxicity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amitriptyline↗

Strategic planning: a biomedical communications model.

This article describes a biomedical communications approach to strategic planning. This model produces a short-term plan that allows a department to take the competitive advantage, react to technological change, and make timely decisions on new courses of action. The model calls for self-study, involving staff in brainstorming sessions where options are identified and ideas are prioritized into possible strategies for success. The article recommends that an evaluation and monitoring schedule be implemented after decisions have been made.

Communication↗