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Effects of Ethanol In Vitro and In Vivo on the Release of Endogenous Catecholamines from Specific Regions of Rat Brain
Author(s) -
Holman R. B.,
Snape B. M.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1985.tb05424.x
Subject(s) - olfactory bulb , striatum , endogeny , chemistry , endocrinology , ethanol , medicine , in vivo , dopamine , potassium , in vitro , pharmacology , central nervous system , biology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry
Blocks of tissue from the hypothalamus, olfactory bulb, or striatum of rats were incubated in vitro to study the basal and potassium‐stimulated release of endogenous catecholamines. When ethanol (100–250 m M ) was added to these preparations in vitro , no changes in release were observed. When ethanol (3.0 g · kg −1 ) was injected intraperitoneally in vivo , however, and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethylamine (DA, dopamine) release was measured in vitro at various times after drug administration, significant increases in the basal release and decreases in the potassium‐stimulated release were observed in striatum and olfactory bulb. In striatum, these changes showed a more rapid onset and a longer duration than in olfactory bulb. In both brain regions, DA release did not differ from controls at 4–6 h after the ethanol injection, although blood ethanol concentrations remained elevated. This may imply the tissue's acquisition of acute functional tolerance to the drug. Similar increases and decreases in the basal and the potassium‐induced release of DA from striatal tissues were also found at 1 h after injection of a lower dose of ethanol (1.0 g · kg −1 ). In terms of behavior, this lower dose of ethanol produced only mild intoxication and ataxia, in contrast to the loss of righting reflex following the higher dose.