Controlled cortical impact injury affects dopaminergic transmission in the rat striatum

• Published in: Journal of neurochemistry 2005-10, Vol.95 (2), p.457-465
• Main Authors: Wagner, A. K., Sokoloski, J. E., Ren, D., Chen, X., Khan, A. S., Zafonte, R. D., Michael, A. C., Dixon, C. E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Brain damage; Brain Injuries - physiopathology; Brain Injuries - psychology; Central nervous system; Central neurotransmission. Neuromudulation. Pathways and receptors; Cerebral Cortex - injuries; Dextroamphetamine - pharmacology; dopamine; Dopamine - physiology; dopamine transporter; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors - pharmacology; Electric Stimulation; Electrodes, Implanted; Electrophysiology; fast scan cyclic voltammetry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Kinetics; Male; Medial Forebrain Bundle - physiology; Medical sciences; Neostriatum - physiopathology; Neurology; Neurotransmitters; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine D2 - metabolism; Rodents; Rotation; rotational behavior; Synaptic Transmission - physiology; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; traumatic brain injury; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase - metabolism; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0022-3042; 1471-4159
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2005.03382.x

The therapeutic benefits of dopamine (DA) agonists after traumatic brain injury (TBI) imply a role for DA systems in mediating functional deficits post‐TBI. We investigated how experimental TBI affects striatal dopamine systems using fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), western blot, and d‐amphetamine‐induced rotational behavior. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were injured by a controlled cortical impact (CCI) delivered unilaterally to the parietal cortex, or were naïve controls. Amphetamine‐induced rotational behavior was assessed 10 days post‐CCI. Fourteen days post‐CCI, animals were anesthetized and underwent FSCV with bilateral striatal carbon fiber microelectrode placement and stimulating electrode placement in the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). Evoked DA overflow was assessed in the striatum as the MFB was electrically stimulated at 60 Hz for 10 s. In 23% of injured animals, but no naïve animals, rotation was observed with amphetamine administration. Compared with naïves, striatal evoked DA overflow was lower for injured animals in the striatum ipsilateral to injury (p