Dopaminergic mechanisms of neostriatum in the regulation of adaptive behavior by corticoliberin.

A conditioned active avoidance response was developed in rats with high (KHA) and low (KLA) rates of learning and the effects of injection of corticoliberin into the dorsal striatum on orientational-investigative and avoidance behavior were studied in normal animals and after depletion of striatal dopamine by preliminary injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. These studies showed that corticoliberin, like 6-hydroxydopamine, produced similar trends in the animals' behavior. Their effects were mediated by opposite mechanisms in animals with initial active and passive learning strategies for adaptive behavior. The role of dopaminergic structures of the striatum in mediating the behavioral effects of corticoliberin is discussed.