THE COMPETITIVE NMDA ANTAGONIST CPP BLOCKS MK-801-ELICITED POPPING BEHAVIOR IN MICE

In the current investigation, the ability of CPP {3-(2-carboxypiperazi ne-4-yl) propyl-1-phosphate} to elicit mouse popping behaviour in a ma nner similar to that of MK-801 was studied. Unlike MK-801, CPP (3.2-32 mg/kg) did not elicit any popping. The data show that a reduction in NMDA-mediated neural transmission alone is not sufficient to elicit po pping behavior in mice. Moreover, pretreatment of mice with CPP attenu ated MK-801's ability to elicit popping. These results suggest that po pping requires the channel to be in the ''active'', or open, configura tion and that it depends on MK-801's access and binding to its unique site in the hydrophobic channel.