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Article: Effects of atropine on measures of behavioral arousal in rats.
- Article from:
- The Journal of General Psychology
- Article date:
- October 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As nonprecocial animals mature, their levels of behavioral arousal and locomotor activity change in consistent and predictable ways. Increases in behavioral arousal early in life have been functionally related to the maturation of dopamine (DA) systems (Campbell, Lytle, & Fibiger, 1969), and drugs that stimulate these systems (e.g., cocaine, amphetamine, apomorphine) typically result in increases in locomotor activity and stereotypical behaviors (Barrett, Caza, Spear, & Spear, 1982; Costall, Naylor, & Neumeyer, 1975). As the subject matures, this DA-related arousal wanes, apparently, with the development of forebrain cholinergic (ACh) systems (Blozovski & Bachevalier, ...