title: Chronic administration of amphetamine increases glutamic acid decarboxylase activity in the rat substantia nigra.
abstract: The glutamate decarboxylase activity in the rat cerebellum, frontal cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, substantia nigra and nucleus caudatus, was measured after either acute or chronic administration of (+)-amphetamine (1.35 and 5.4 mg/kg, i.p.). It was found that following 45 days of treatment the highest dose of the drug induced a selective increase of glutamate decarboxylase activity in the substantia nigra. Also in addition to the known changes in body weight, behavior and food-intake, some of the rats (5 out of 80 rats) treated with the highest dose of (+)-amphetamine developed a self-mutilating behavior. These results suggest that after the repeated administration of a high dose of (+)-amphetamine the activity of the striatonigral GABAergic pathway is increased and supports the idea that gamma-aminobutyric acid output neurons might convey dopamine-related functions.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico D.F.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez-de la Mora
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: López-Quiroz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Méndez-Franco
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Drucker-Colín
mesh_terms: D000662:Amphetamines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase