title: Mesocortical dopaminergic neurons. 1. Electrophysiological properties and evidence for soma-dendritic autoreceptors.
abstract: Mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons were electrophysiologically identified by a variety of criteria, including antidromic activation from prefrontal or cingulate cortex, neostriatum, or nucleus accumbens in urethane-anesthetized rats. The mean firing rate of 98 mesocortical dopaminergic neurons was 2.9 +/- 0.3 spikes/sec and did not differ from the mean firing rate found for nigrostriatal or nucleus accumbens dopaminergic neurons. Spontaneously active mesocortical dopaminergic neurons were inhibited by intravenous administration of either apomorphine (6 micrograms/kg) or amphetamine (0.25 mg/kg). Whereas most antidromic responses of nigrostriatal and mesoaccumbens neurons consisted of the initial segment spike only, cortically-elicited antidromic responses typically consisted of a full initial segment-soma-dendritic spike. These findings are discussed with regard to the presence of soma-dendritic autoreceptors on mesocortical dopaminergic neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, 92093.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Gariano
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tepper
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Groves
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000662:Amphetamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D001058:Apomorphine; D004298:Dopamine