ACTION OF SCOPOLAMINE AND CARBON DIOXIDE ON CATALEPSY PRODUCED BY BULBOCAPNINE

Abstract

One of the most characteristic features in the behavior of monkeys under the influence of bulbocapnine is their tendency to hold on to any object placed within their grasp (Richter and Paterson¹). A normal monkey with three limbs tied will cling to a horizontal bar brought within reach of the free hand but will drop from it and attempt to escape as soon as he is left hanging by the experimenter. A monkey similarly bound but given an injection of bulbocapnine will not only grasp the bar but will hang from it for several minutes. This hanging response, probably closely related to the grasp reflex of the new-born infant, is doubtless a part of the catalepsy produced by the drug, in that the animal continues to grasp the bar once it has obtained a hold, just as it tends to maintain any other posture in which it is placed.