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Query: UMLS:C0085631 (agitation)
 12,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The present series of experiments tested the hypothesis that the behavioral activating and anxiogenic effects produced by intraventricular administration of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) may be mediated by noradrenergic neurons in the brain-stem locus coeruleus (LC). Results showed that infusion of CRF into the LC (100 ng) significantly increased nonambulatory spontaneous motor activity measured in photocell cages; ambulatory (i.e., locomotor) activity was not altered. In the modified Porsolt swim test, which examines arousal and agitation in a stressful situation, significant behavioral activation (i.e., decreased floating) was seen following infusion of CRF (10 ng) into the LC; a 500 ng dose of CRF was necessary to produce similar effects following infusion into the lateral ventricle. The results of these 2 tests suggest that the behavioral activating effects of CRF in the LC may be related to arousing or stress-related effects, rather than to increased locomotor activity per se. Anxiogenic activity was assessed in animals placed in an open field containing a small, darkened compartment. Infusion or CRF into the LC (1-100 ng) significantly increased the time spent in the compartment and decreased the amount of time spent exploring the outside of the compartment or venturing into the inner squares of the open field, all indices of anxiogenic behavior. Biochemical studies showed that bilateral infusion of CRF into the LC produced significant increases in the concentration of the norepinephrine metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol in such forebrain projection areas of the LC as the amygdala and posterior hypothalamus. These data, taken together, suggest that CRF produces its behavioral activating and anxiogenic effects, at least in part, by increasing the activity of LC noradrenergic neurons.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing factor produces fear-enhancing and behavioral activating effects following infusion into the locus coeruleus. 229 91

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a neuropeptide involved in integrating the behavioral, autonomic, and hormonal responses to stress within the central nervous system. Patients suffering from depression have abnormal activity in stress responsive brain regions and elevated cerebrospinal fluid CRF. The DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder include behavioral changes such as depressed mood, anhedonia, and psychomotor agitation/retardation. We studied the effects of 434 microgram of CRF given intracerebroventricularly over 40 min in group and individually housed monkeys to examine the role of elevated levels of central CRF on behavior. CRF elicited a wide range of behaviors, which fell into three broad categories: anxiety-like, depressive-like, and externally oriented. Externally oriented behaviors decreased, and anxiety-like behaviors increased regardless of how the animals were housed. Interestingly, increased depressive-like behaviors were only observed when the animals were socially housed. In a separate experiment, we examined the effects of the same dose of CRF on the regional cerebral glucose metabolism of lightly anesthetized monkeys by using positron emission tomography and [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose. CRF infusion increased glucose metabolism in the pituitary/infundibulum, the amygdala, and hippocampus. These results indicate that increased central CRF tone affects primate behavior in a context-dependent manner, and that it activates limbic and stress-responsive regions. The fact that intracerebroventricular CRF increases depressive-like behavior in socially housed animals and increases activity in limbic brain regions may help explain the behavioral and metabolic alterations in humans with affective disorders, and this model could therefore have significant value in the development of novel antidepressant treatments.
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PMID:Intracerebroventricular corticotropin-releasing factor increases limbic glucose metabolism and has social context-dependent behavioral effects in nonhuman primates. 1243 92