The effects of noradrenaline on rat's behaviour

Summary The behavioural effects of NA injected without narcosis into the lateral brain ventricle of the rats were studied with two different techniques. Rats were classified according their normal level of exploratory activity into three groups: high, medium and low. It was shown that NA in a dose of 10 g increased locomotor activity only in animals of low activity; a dose of 50 g increased locomotor activity in all the animals; and a dose of 200 g induced a complete abolition of locomotor activity and a stuporose syndrome lasting 2 hours. The evidence that NA in some experimental conditions increases locomotor activity of rats supports the hypothesis that NA regulates processes in the central nervous system which stimulate behaviour.