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Effects of Methamphetamine on the Cerebellar Cortex
Author(s) -
FERRUCCI MICHELA,
BUSCETI CARLA L.,
FALLENI ALESSANDRA,
GIORGI FILIPPO S.,
RUGGIERI STEFANO,
FORNAI FRANCESCO
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1369.014
Subject(s) - meth , methamphetamine , cerebellum , tyrosine hydroxylase , dopamine , striatum , basal ganglia , catecholamine , neuroscience , cerebellar cortex , monoamine neurotransmitter , chemistry , cortex (anatomy) , medicine , endocrinology , biology , pharmacology , central nervous system , receptor , serotonin , monomer , organic chemistry , acrylate , polymer
Methamphetamine (METH) targets monoamine nerve terminals and produces motor effects, which are related to changes in catecholamine activity within the basal ganglia. Cerebellum plays an important role in motor control, nonetheless only a few studies investigated the effects of METH in this area. In this article, we report preliminary results on protein expression in the cerebellum following METH administration. In particular, we focused on the rate‐limiting catecholamine‐synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). By using immunoblotting, we found that METH administration produces a dose‐dependent increase of TH within the cerebellar cortex of mice, which is opposite to the decrease of TH within the striatum. Further investigations are needed in order to determine the time course, the cerebellar regions, the cellular (and subcellular) compartments, and the functional role related to these effects.