Excitatory effects of dopamine released by impulse flow in the rat nucleus accumbens in vivo

Dopamine is generally considered to be an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens can be evoked by chemical stimulation of the afferent cell bodies using N-methyl-D-aspartate microinjection in the ventral tegmental area. We report here tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience 1996-11, Vol.75 (1), p.13-18
Main Authors: Gonon, F., Sundstrom, L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - drug effects
Animals
Benzazepines - pharmacology
Biological and medical sciences
Central nervous system
Dopamine - physiology
Dopamine Antagonists - pharmacology
Electric Stimulation
Electrophysiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Haloperidol - pharmacology
Male
Microinjections
N-Methylaspartate - administration & dosage
N-Methylaspartate - pharmacology
Neurons - metabolism
Nucleus Accumbens - metabolism
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Receptors, Dopamine D1 - drug effects
Receptors, Dopamine D1 - physiology
Tegmentum Mesencephali - drug effects
Tegmentum Mesencephali - metabolism
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Dopamine is generally considered to be an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens can be evoked by chemical stimulation of the afferent cell bodies using N-methyl-D-aspartate microinjection in the ventral tegmental area. We report here that following such injections most neurons of the nucleus accumbens were excited. This excitation was abolished if dopaminergic neurons were lesioned and was blocked by antagonists of the D1 dopamine receptors. Finally, excitatory responses to electrical stimulation of the hippocampus were strongly facilitated by endogenously released dopamine. We suggest, therefore, that under physiological conditions, dopamine acting on D1 receptors is actually an excitatory neurotransmitter.
ISSN:0306-4522
1873-7544
DOI:10.1016/0306-4522(96)00320-X