Alterations in dopaminergic function after subacute ethanol administration.
The in vivo and in vitro effects of d-amphetamine were assessed in rats after subacute (24 hr) administration of ethanol vapor (28 mg/l). Forty-eight hours after the termination of ethanol vapor inhalation, when the animals were tolerant to the hypothermic effect of ethanol, a decreased hypothermic response to d-amphetamine was detected, suggesting that functional changes in dopaminergic activity might be associated with ethanol tolerance. The hyperthermic effect of d-amphetamine was similar in the ethanol-tolerant and control animals. The d-amphetamine-stimulated release of [3H]dopamine from crude synaptosomal (P2) fractions of striatum was nearly abolished immediately after subacute ethanol administration. Samples prepared from ethanol-tolerant animals released less [3H]dopamine in response to d-amphetamine perfusion compared to samples prepared from control animals when tested 48 hr after ethanol vapor exposure. Subacute ethanol administration appears to produce long-acting changes in d-amphetamine-sensitive dopaminergic mechanisms.
D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D000431:Ethanol; D003913:Dextroamphetamine; D004298:Dopamine