MK801 INDUCES C-FOS PROTEIN IN THALAMIC AND NEOCORTICAL NEURONS OF RAT-BRAIN

MK801, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, leads to a dramatic induction of c-fos-like protein in neurons in deep layers of the neocortex, in dorsal and ventral midline thalamic nuclei and in neurons in the central grey of rat brain. This induction of c-fos by MK801 is dose- and time-dependent occurring within 2 h and dissipating by 24 h after injection (0.5-8.0 mg/kg, i.p.). The mechanism of this paradoxical induction of c-fos by MK801 is unclear, however the pattern of induction appears to follow the distribution of the antagonist-preferring NMDA receptor site. © 1990.