title: Chronic lithium chloride fails to prevent imipramine-induced sensitization to the dopamine D(2)-like receptor agonist quinpirole.
abstract: Lithium salts, an effective antimanic treatment, are able to prevent the development of the dopaminergic behavioural supersensitivity induced by chronic treatment with neuroleptics, by denervation of the dopaminergic terminal fields and by rapid eye movements (REM) sleep deprivation, which is considered a model of mania. We have studied the effect of a lithium (LiCl) diet, inducing a lithium serum level in the range of therapeutic efficacy, on the development of the supersensitivity to the locomotor effect of the dopamine D(2)-like receptor agonist, quinpirole, induced by chronic treatment with the antidepressant drug, imipramine. The results show that lithium is not able to prevent the development of such behavioural supersensitivity. The present data suggest that antidepressant-induced dopaminergic supersensitivity might provide a useful model of those manic states induced by (or subsequent to) antidepressant treatments. Moreover, the finding is consistent with the view that antidepressant-induced dopaminergic supersensitivity might play a role in the therapeutic effect of these drugs (which is known to be augmented by lithium, and not antagonised). Finally, the results show that the dopaminergic supersensitivity induced by imipramine is qualitatively different from that induced by neuroleptics or denervation of the dopaminergic terminal fields.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Sassari, via Muroni 23/a, 07100, Sassari, Italy. dsfpaolo@ssmain.uniss.it
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: D'Aquila
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Collu
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devoto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Serra
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000494:pharmacology; D018692:Antimanic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D007099:Imipramine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D019257:Quinpirole / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D018692:Antimanic Agents; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D019257:Quinpirole; D018021:Lithium Chloride; D007099:Imipramine