Long-term desipramine treatment attenuates clonidine-induced suppression of ventral tegmental self-stimulation.
Long-term administration of the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine did not change the rate of self-stimulation responding in the A10 (ventral tegmental) area but significantly attenuated the suppressive effect of the selective alpha 2-adrenergic agonist clonidine on this behavior. These findings demonstrate an involvement of noradrenergic mechanisms in the regulation of ventral tegmental self-stimulation and further suggest that adaptive changes in inhibitory presynaptic noradrenergic receptors may be involved in desipramine's antidepressant effects.
D000818:Animals; D003000:Clonidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003891:Desipramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012653:Self Stimulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D013681:Tegmentum Mesencephali / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
D003000:Clonidine; D003891:Desipramine