Introduction: The use of psychotropic drugs for recreational or therapeutic purposes
have been used for most of human history. More recently, the pharmacological
association between such compounds is investigated in order to understand the effects
of their overdose and co-administration, to establish disease models, and to gain insight
into their toxicological and physiological consequences. Alcohol and flunitrazepam,
both CNS depressants, have a wide ability to reduce anxiety, cause myorelaxation, loss
of social inhibition and sedation. Their side effects can involve increased daytime
sleepiness, falls, cognitive impairment and even fatal overdose. Aims: Here, our goal
was to investigate the electrocorticographic alterations upon administration of alcohol
and flunitrazepam in animal models (Wistar rats). Methods: For the electrode
implantation process (for electrocorticographic evaluation), we established eight groups
were of nine rats. We evaluated the effects of alcohol and flunitrazepam alone and in
association. The animals were anesthetized with a combination of Xylazine
Hydrochloride (5mg/kg) and Ketamine Hydrochloride (50mg/kg) intraperitoneally.
Upon the loss of interdigital reflex, we fixed the stereotaxic device for the implantation
of electrodes. To analyze the resulting signals, we built a tool implemented in Python
version 2.7. Numpy and Scipy libraries were used for mathematical processing and
Matplolib was employed for plotting graphics. The graphical interface was developed
using the PyQt4 library. Results: Both drugs showed similar effects in reducing CNS
activity. Furthermore, we observed that the association of both drugs potentiated the
sedative effects and the side effects that reduce respiratory activity, with progression of
such effects according to increased doses of flunitrazepam. Conclusions: In conclusion,
the effects of both drugs are capable of altering waking state, cognitive and cortical
functions in mice.
|
