The effect of hypoxia on monoamine levels in discrete regions of aged rat brain.
Aged rats were exposed to 10% oxygen for 1, 13, and 36 hr. Norepinephrine levels in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, midbrain, cerebellum, pons-medulla and dopamine levels in striatum were determined after each exposure. While there was no significant change in monoamine levels in brain regions after 2 hr, norepinephrine concentration in hypothalamus and midbrain decreased significantly after 13 hr of hypoxia. After 36 hr in a hypoxic environment, levels of the monoamines in brain regions were similar to the controls. This would suggest NE metabolism is most vulnerable to hypoxia in two regions of the aged brain. The precise mechanism of these changes is unknown, but they suggest both a vulnerability and an adaptive recovery of central adrenergic metabolism by the aged brain under hypoxia.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000378:metabolism; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood*; D051381:Rats
D010100:Oxygen; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine