title: Basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion is decreased by lesion of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons.
abstract: There is evidence that certain psychopathological conditions are accompanied by a dysfunction in both the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and dopaminergic systems, although the relationship between these two systems is as yet unclear. In the present study we investigated the effect of a specific lesion of dopamine mesencephalic neurons (Ventral Tegmental Area) on basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion. Three weeks after injection of 6-OHDA, there was a depletion in dopamine in the frontal cortex and in the ventral and dorsal striatum, whereas norepinephrine and serotonin levels were unchanged. The dopamine-lesioned rats exhibited a lower basal and stress-induced corticosterone secretion than the sham-lesioned animals. The results indicate that the dopaminergic system may have a stimulatory influence on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Psychobiologie des Comportements Adaptatifs, INSERM U259, Université de Bordeaux II, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casolini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kabbaj
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leprat
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rougé-Pont
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Angelucci
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Le Moal
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maccari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D016627:Oxidopamine; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016627:Oxidopamine; D004298:Dopamine; D003345:Corticosterone