Acute administration of the antidepressant trazodone increases noradrenergic locus coeruleus neuronal firing in rats.
Extracellular single-unit recordings were made from noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons in chloral hydrate-anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. Acute intravenous administration of the antidepressant trazodone produced a mild excitation of firing of these cells (ED25 = 0.128 mg/kg; ED50 = 0.659 mg/kg). These findings, in combination with previous work showing that trazodone inhibits the firing of serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons indicate that trazodone modulates monoaminergic neuronal activity in the brain and suggest a unique electrophysiological profile for this drug among antidepressants.
VanderMaelen
C P
CP
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, CNS Drug Discovery, Department 404, Wallingford, CT 06492.
Braselton
J P
JP
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D002697:Chloral Hydrate; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014196:Trazodone / Q000494:pharmacology*
D002697:Chloral Hydrate; D009638:Norepinephrine; D014196:Trazodone