Dissociations between the effects of intra-accumbens administration of amphetamine and exposure to a novel environment on accumbens dopamine and cortical acetylcholine release.
Previous research has demonstrated an interaction between the effects of amphetamine and exposure to a novel environment on the activity of neurons in the nucleus accumbens. Given a model in which these accumbens efferents gate the excitability of basal forebrain cholinergic corticopetal neurons, the administration of intra-accumbens amphetamine was hypothesized to potentiate the increase in cortical acetylcholine produced by introduction to a novel environment. Dual probe microdialysis revealed no synergistic interactions between exposure to a novel environment and amphetamine on nucleus accumbens dopamine or cortical acetylcholine efflux. This finding indicates that exposure to a novel environment failed to recruit the telencephalic activation of the nucleus accumbens presumably necessary to reveal modulatory effects of accumbens dopaminergic transmission on cortical acetylcholine release.
Neigh
G N
GN
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
Arnold
H M
HM
Sarter
M
M
Bruno
J P
JP
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D017551:Microdialysis; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D000661:Amphetamine; D000109:Acetylcholine; D004298:Dopamine