Postnatal administration of L-dopa normalizes hypoxia-induced long-term changes in dopamine release from striatum slices and in avoidance learning.
Newborn rats exposed to a mild chronic postnatal hypoxia always displayed at the age of 2-3 months an increased fractional efflux rate of dopamine (DA) from striatum slices combined with a decreased capacity for learning and retention. The protective effect of the administration of L-DOPA on these long-term changes was tested by the injection of L-DOPA 5-30 min prior to the beginning of daily exposure to hypoxia. L-DOPA administration during postnatal hypoxia prevents in a dose dependent manner the long-term effects of postnatal hypoxia as described. This finding supports the hypothesis that long-term changes in DA release and in behaviour due to early postnatal hypoxia may be brought about by changes in the DA-metabolism during a critical period of development.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007980:Levodopa / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012016:Reference Values
D007980:Levodopa; D004298:Dopamine