title: Increase of extracellular dopamine in the prefrontal cortex: a trait of drugs with antidepressant potential?
abstract: Drugs differing in their primary mechanism of action but having in common the ability to act as antidepressants such as fluoxetine (10 mg/kg SC), clomipramine (10 mg/kg IP), imipramine (10 mg/kg IP), desipramine (10 mg/kg IP) and (+/-) 8-OHDPAT (0.03 mg/kg SC) increase extracellular concentrations of dopamine in the rat prefrontal cortex but not in the medial nucleus accumbens. Buspirone (1 mg/kg SC) increased dopamine both in the prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens. Extracellular 5HT was increased by fluoxetine, clomipramine and imipramine but not by desipramine while 8-OHDPAT and buspirone decreased it. These results raise the possibility that the property of stimulating dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex has a role in the antidepressant properties of these drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, University of Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tanda
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carboni
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frau
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Chiara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000494:pharmacology; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008297:Male; D017551:Microdialysis; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D012701:Serotonin; D004298:Dopamine