Effects of D2 dopamine receptor activation in the ventral pallidum on sensory gating and food-motivated learning in control and schizophrenia model (Wisket) rats

Dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) of the ventral pallidum (VP) play important role in motivational and learning processes, however, their potential role in triggering schizophrenic symptoms has not been investigated, yet. In the present experiments the effects of locally administered D2R agonist quinpirole were investigated on behavioral parameters related to sensorimotor gating, motor activity and food-motivated labyrinth learning. Two weeks after bilateral implantation of microcannulae into the VP, the acute (30 min) and delayed (3, 21 and 24 hours) effects of quinpirole microinjection (1 µg/0.4 µl at both sides) were investigated in Wistar and schizophrenia model (Wisket substrain) rats in prepulse inhibition (PPI) and the reward-based Ambitus tests. Quinpirole administration did not modify the impaired sensorimotor gating in Wisket rats, but it led to significant deficit in Wistar animals. Regarding the locomotor activity in the Ambitus test, no effects of quinpirole were detected in either groups at the investigated time points. In contrast, quinpirole resulted in decreased exploratory and food-collecting activities in Wistar rats with 21 and 24 hours delay. Though, impaired food-related motivation could be observed in Wisket rats, but quinpirole treatment did not result in further deterioration. In summary, our results showed that the VP D2R activation in Wistar rats induces symptoms similar to those observed in schizophrenia model Wisket rats. These data suggest that Wisket rats might have significant alterations in the functional activity of VP, which might be due to its enhanced dopaminergic activity