Abstract
The effects of systemically administered or iontophoretically applied clonidine (alpha-2 adrenergic agonist) and iontophoretically applied yohimbine (alpha-2 adrenergic antagonist) were examined on prefrontal cortical (PFC) neurons related to spatial working memory (SWM). Systemically administered clonidine (0.04 mg/kg) enhanced SWM-related PFC neuronal activity by 32.5 ± 14.5%, (mean ± SD; n = 25 neurons). The facilitatory effect of clonidine was antagonized by iontophoretically applied yohimbine. Iontophoretically applied clonidine enhanced SWM-related PFC neuronal activity by 38.2 ± 18.6%, (n = 13 neurons), whereas similarly applied yohimbine suppressed it by 34.4 ± 17.8% (n = 28 neurons). These results indicate that: a) systemically administered clonidine can facilitate SWM-related PFC neuronal activity through actions at alpha-2 adrenoceptors in the PFC; and b) conversely, blockade by yohimbine of alpha-2 adrenoceptors in the PFC suppresses SWM-related neuronal activity. The present study provides neurophysiological evidence that alpha-2 adrenoceptors in the PFC are involved in the cellular mechanisms underlying working memory.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Ms. K.-J. Xu for her technical assistance during this study, Drs. A.F.T. Arnsten and M. Inase for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39000032 and No. 39630140), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. STZ-2–05), and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Climbing Project 95-YU-1812).
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Li, BM., Mao, ZM., Wang, M. et al. Alpha-2 Adrenergic Modulation of Prefrontal Cortical Neuronal Activity Related to Spatial Working Memory in Monkeys. Neuropsychopharmacol 21, 601–610 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(99)00070-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(99)00070-6
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