title: Central catecholaminergic lesions in the developing rat: effects of cardiac noradrenaline levels, turnover and release.
abstract: 1. The role of the central nervous system in regulating cardiac sympathetic tone was examined in developing rats with neonatal central catecholaminergic lesions produced by intracisternal 6-hydroxydopamine treatment. 2. Lesioned animals showed a persistent deficit in both cardiac noradrenaline levels and spontaneous turnover rate as evaluated by alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine treatment. 3. Despite these deficits, tyramine was fully capable of releasing cardiac noradrenaline and short-term centrally-mediated release also could be elicited by exposure to cold or by swimming exercise. 4. The alterations in cardiac noradrenaline content produced by the central lesions may result from long-term reductions in sympathetic tone which do not necessarily compromise short-term response capabilities of the sympathetic system.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000294:innervation; D006892:Hydroxydopamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D007700:Kinetics; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D009638:Norepinephrine