title: Central dopamine systems and gastric stress pathology in rats.
abstract: Acute treatments with haloperidol (1 mg/kg), clozapine (10 mg/kg) and metoclopramide (10 mg/kg) significantly facilitated cold-restraint-induced gastric ulcer formation in rats. In addition, haloperidol and clozapine also produced gastric mucosal erosions in non-stressed rats. Bilateral lesions of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra also aggravated stress ulcerogenesis--VTA lesions also being effective in inducing gastric ulcers in non-stressed rats. Long-term treatment with dopaminergic blockers showed variable effects. Clozapine potentiated the gastric stress pathology, whereas no significant facilitation was observed with haloperidol or metoclopramide. In addition, withdrawal from haloperidol did not influence the gastric ulcer formation when compared to controls. The role of central dopaminergic involvement in gastric stress pathology is discussed in light of the present results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Henke
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000473:pathology*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000502:physiology; D013681:Tegmentum Mesencephali / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011954:Receptors, Dopamine