Stress and a glycinergic intervention interact in the modulation of MK-801-elicited mouse popping behavior

The ability of D-cycloserine, a partial glycine agonist, to modulate mouse popping behavior elicited by MK-801, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, was studied in unstressed and stressed mice. In unstressed animals, D-cycloserine (5.6 and 10 mg/kg) attenuated the ability of MK-801 (1.0 mg/kg) to elicit this behavior. However, the ability of D-cycloserine to attenuate MK-801-elicited mouse-popping behavior was not evident in stressed mice, 24 h after they were forced to swim for up to 10 min in cold water. Thus, the therapeutic value of glycinergic interventions may be limited by environmental factors, such as stress. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.