Ontogenetic and pharmacological dissociation of various components of locomotor activity and habituation in the rat

Sprague-Dawley-derived male rats were used to investigate locomotor activity and habituation in an open field as a joint function of developmental age (2-6 weeks), pattern of test exposure (single 30-min test vs three 5-min tests at 24-hr intervals), and treatment conditions (i.p. saline, d-amphetamine sulfate 1 mg/kg, or scopolamine hydrocloride 0.5 mg/kg). No-drug animals showed low activity levels in both tests at the end of the second week, intermediate response rates at the end of the third week, and a typical adult-like pattern at later ages (high initial activity followed by marked within-session or between-session habituation). Amphetamine effects varied considerably depending jointly on age and type of test. At the end of the second week, the drug hyperactivity was much more marked in successive brief tests than in the single extended test. One week later, the response increase was rather uniform in both tests. At the end of the fourth week, the sensitivity profile was reversed, consisting of a large drug effect in the extended test but not in successive brief tests. Scopolamine was still without effects at this age, while a typical hyperactivity was produced by the drug in 6-week-old animals. These data show that, at least in the rat strain used, the functional maturation of muscarinic regulatory systems is not a necessary condition either for the appearance of an adult-like response pattern, or for the occurrence of the age- and test-related changes of the amphetamine profile.