title: Alterations in beta adrenergic physiological response characteristics after long-term treatment with desmethylimipramine: interaction between norepinephrine and gamma-aminobutyric acid in rat cerebellum.
abstract: Changes in beta adrenergically mediated responses of cerebellar Purkinje cells to norepinephrine (NE) were assessed in rats chronically treated with desmethylimipramine (DMI). A decreased efficacy of NE action after DMI pretreatment was manifested in both a higher mean iontophoretic current dose of the catecholamine required to induce threshold depressions of Purkinje cell spontaneous activity and a markedly diminished ability of NE to enhance inhibitory responses to gamma-aminobutyric acid. No significant differences were found in the responsiveness of Purkinje cells to gamma-aminobutyric acid alone between control and DMI-pretreated animals. However, in a significant portion of the Purkinje cells tested in the DMI-pretreated group, concurrent NE application resulted in an antagonism rather than an enhanced responsiveness to gamma-aminobutyric acid. The results of this electrophysiological study provide evidence for a "modulatory subsensitivity" toward noradrenergic actions in the cerebellum after a decrease in beta receptor number induced by prolonged treatment with DMI.
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D003891:Desipramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic / Q000502:physiology*; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D003891:Desipramine; D009638:Norepinephrine