Effect of benactyzine and arecoline on Na,K-ATPase activity and content of Na+ and K+ ions in the rat brain

Activity of Na,K-ATPase and the content of Na⁺ and K⁺ ions in the rat brain were studied after administration of arecoline and benactyzine. Both drugs increased Na,K-ATPase activity, possibly on account of changes in the redistribution of Na⁺ and K⁺ ions in the nerve cell. Arecoline was shown to cause changes in the distribution of electrolytes characteristic of depolarization, and benactyzine changes characteristic of hyperpolarization of the nerve cell membrane.(Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR S. N. Golikov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 180–183, February, 1977.