Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Measuring In Vivo Changes in Extracellular Neurotransmitters During Naturally Rewarding Behaviors in Female Syrian Hamsters
Published on: September 12, 2017
Neurochemical and behavioural modifications induced by scrapie infection in golden hamsters
S R Bareggi1, D Braida, M Gervasoni
1Department of Pharmacology, Chemotherapy and Medical Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli 32, 20129, Milan, Italy. silvio.bareggi@unimi.it
Abstract:
Scrapie-infected hamsters were tested for spontaneous motor activity and passive avoidance at various times after infection. After testing, some animals were killed and their whole brains assayed for norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and their metabolites. The apparent rate of turnover was estimated in terms of metabolite/amine concentrations. After 70 days, there was a decrease in passive avoidance and dopamine and serotonin. Passive avoidance correlated with the apparent rate of turnover of dopamine, whereas motor activity correlated with that of serotonin and dopamine.
