AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 238, Issue 1 65-R69, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
Nucleus accumbens to globus pallidus GABA projection subserving ambulatory activity
D. L. Jones and G. J. Mogenson
The present experiments investigated the hypothesis of a projection
relating to the release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from the nucleus
accumbens to the globus pallidus subserving ambulatory activity in the rat.
The GABA antagonist picrotoxin, microinjected into the globus pallidus,
elicited dose-dependent increases in ambulatory activity. The
administration of dopamine into the nucleus accumbens had a synergistic
effect and further stimulated ambulatory activity. GABA injected into the
ventral posterior globus pallidus significantly attenuated the ambulatory
activity stimulated by injecting dopamine into the nucleus accumbens. These
observations provide evidence of a GABAergic projection from the nucleus
accumbens to the globus pallidus and implicate it in the initiation of
ambulatory activity.
