Exhaustion of the noradrenalin (NA) reserves in the rat brain caused by administration of reserpine or dopamine-
-oxidase blockers (disulfiram, diethyldithiocarbamate) is accompanied by a decrease in nuclear RNA synthesis and disturbances of emotional and conditioned-defensive behavior. During the accumulation of cerebral Na (following injection of iproniazid or imipramine) the rate of synthesis of nuclear RNA rises. Prevention of the exhausting effect of reserpine by preliminary injection of iproniazid also prevents the disturbance of nuclear RNA synthesis.
Key Words noradrenalin - nuclear RNA synthesis - rat brain - mechanisms of memory - emotional and conditioned-defensive behavior
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Immunology, Khar''kov Research Institute of Neurology and Psychiatry. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. V. Zakusov.) Translated from Byulleten'' Éksperimental''noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 80, No. 9, pp. 36–39, September, 1975.