Nicotine increases stress-induced serotonin release by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in rat striatum.
We used a microdialysis technique to analyze the effects of footshock stress on the release of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT) in the striatum or prefrontal cortex (PFC) in rats that were pretreated with nicotine. Neither nicotine administration alone nor stress application alone changed 5-HT release. During stress application, however, both chronic nicotine administration and local infusion of nicotine to the striatum significantly increased 5-HT release in the striatum, though not in the PFC. These increases in 5-HT release were eradicated by a local infusion of mecamylamine. Release of 5-HT increased in the striatum during stress application when nicotine was injected to the striatum, while nicotinic injection to the dorsal raphe nucleus did not increase 5-HT release in the striatum. The present study demonstrates that nicotine induced a release of 5-HT upon stress application by stimulating presynaptic nicotinic receptors in the striatum.
Takahashi
H
H
Department of Physiology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
Takada
Y
Y
Nagai
N
N
Urano
T
T
Takada
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004597:Electroshock; D008297:Male; D008464:Mecamylamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D017551:Microdialysis; D008845:Microinjections; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism*
D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D012701:Serotonin; D008464:Mecamylamine; D009538:Nicotine