Electroconvulsive shock: progressive dopamine autoreceptor subsensitivity independent of repeated treatment.
Repeated electroconvulsive shock, applied to rats, induces a subsensitivity of dopamine autoreceptors located in the substantia nigra as indexed by single-unit electrophysiological techniques. This reduced sensitivity is time-dependent, since effects similar to those seen with repeated treatment were also observed when single electroconvulsive shock was followed by an appropriate treatment-free interval. These data, coupled with identical results after the repeated administration of tricyclic antidepressants, raise the possibility that a reduction of dopamine autoreceptor sensitivity could underlie both electroconvulsive shock and pharmacological treatment of depression.
D000818:Animals; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D004597:Electroshock; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010507:Periodicity; D051381:Rats; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D004298:Dopamine