General Pharmacology, cilt.30, sa.4, ss.525-531, 1998 (SCI-Expanded)
1. In the present study, the pressor and antinociceptive effects of physostigmine and oxotremorine were investigated in rats injected with AF64A intracerebroventricularly. 2. Physostigmine (50-100 μg/kg, IV)-induced pressor responses were significantly lower in AF64A-injected rats compared with saline injected animals, whereas oxotremorine (20-80 μg/kg, IV)-induced responses were found to be similar to those seen in the saline group. 3. The physostigmine (100 μg/kg, SC)-induced antinociceptive effect was totally abolished by AF64A treatment, but that of oxotremorine (30 μg/kg, SC) remained unchanged at the tail-flick test. 4. The results of this study present functional evidence for AF64A-produced substantial loss of cholinergic neurons involved in the regulation of blood pressure and nociception but not in postsynaptic muscarinic receptors.