Abstract
INTRAVENOUS injection of the ergot alkaloid agroclavine, a member of the clavine group of alkaloids, elicits marked behavioural effects in several species1, which suggests that the substance acts on the central nervous system. In curarized rabbits intravenous injection brings about a continuous arousal pattern of the electrocorticogram, indistinguishable from that produced by external stimuli or by administration of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)2. A more specific test of a neuropharmacological action of agroclavine was suggested by the similarity between the structure of agroclavine and that of LSD and the reported ability of LSD to antagonize the depressant effect of topically applied noradrenaline (NA) on the response of the rat somatosensory cortex evoked by stimulation of the forepaw3.
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DAVIDSON, N., EDWARDSON, J. & SCHWAB, D. Agroclavine antagonizes Depression induced by Noradrenaline in the Cerebral Cortex of the Rat. Nature 223, 1166–1168 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2231166a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2231166a0
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