Effect of impulse flow on the release and synthesis of dopamine in the striatum

Investigating effect of impulse flow on the release and synthesis of dopamine (DA) in the rat striatum revealed that GHB or GBL administered intravenously or intraperitoneally in doses of 100–200 mg/kg routinely, decrease the firing of units localized to the DA containing cells present in the zona compacta of the substantia nigra.

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a study investigating effect of impulse flow on the release and synthesis of dopamine (DA) in the rat striatum. The effect of γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) on the firing of dopaminergic neurons in the zona compacta of the substantia nigra was investigated by means of single unit recording techniques. The identification of DA neurons based on both, histochemical and neurophysiological characteristics made it possible to make extracellular recordings from these neurons. These unit recording experiments revealed that GHB or GBL administered intravenously or intraperitoneally in doses of 100–200 mg/kg routinely, decrease the firing of units localized to the DA containing cells present in the zona compacta of the substantia nigra. Serotonin and norepinephrine (NE) containing neurons in the midbrain raphe and locus coeruleus respectively were much less responsive to the inhibitory properties of GHB. If impulse flow is interrupted in the DA system by placement of a high frequency electrothermic lesion in the nigro-neostriatal pathway or by direct injection of local anesthetics into this pathway an increase in neostriatal DA similar to that produced by GHB treatment is also observed.