Suppression of locomotor activity produced by acute injections of kainic acid into the median raphe nucleus

Several lines of evidence suggest that cells within the immediate vicinity of the median raphe nucleus may exert an inhibitory influence on locomotor activity. If this theory were correct, one would expect that excitation of neurons within the median raphe would have a suppressive effect on behavior. This possibility was examined in the present study where low doses of the glutamate analogue kainic acid were injected into the median raphe nucleus of methylphenidate-pretreated rats. Our results indicate that these injections were able to antagonize, in a dose-dependent manner, both the horizontal locomotor activity and the nose poking induced by methylphenidate. These results provide further support for the existence of inhibitory median raphe influences on locomotion and suggest the possibility that endogenous excitatory amino acids may play a role in raphe functioning.