Pharmacological Effects of Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonist on the General Behavior in Mice.

Abstract

( Received April 23, 1999 Accepted October 27, 1999 ) The pharmacological spectrum of triazolam (TZ), estazolam (ES) and zopiclone (ZP) in mice given benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZ-RAs) by i.p. injection were investigated. The altertness, grooming, grip strength and locomotor activity assessed by Irwin's method were suppressed at 30 min after the injection of these drugs. In contrast, the injection of these drugs induced a head-twitch response, which is regarded as an experimental model for hallucination. These behavioral changes induced by TZ, ES and ZP with respect to the monoaminergic effect on behavioral pharmacology are also discussed.