title: Depletion of cortical allopregnanolone potentiates stress-induced increase in cortical dopamine output.
abstract: In freely moving rats finasteride markedly reduced the cortical content of allopregnanolone. This treatment significantly prolonged the increase in the extracellular concentration of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex induced by foot shock. Moreover, finasteride enhanced both maximal increase of dopamine and its duration elicited by a single injection of the anxiogenic drug FG 7142. These results suggest that endogenous allopregnanolone may modulate the excitatory response of cortical dopaminergic neurons to stressful and anxiogenic stimuli.
authors.affiliation: B. Loddo Department of Experimental Biology, Centre for Neuropharmacology, University of Cagliari, 09042 Cagliari, Italy. dazzi@unica.it
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dazzi
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vacca
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ladu
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Latrofa
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trapani
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biggio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002243:Carbolines / Q000494:pharmacology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018120:Finasteride / Q000494:pharmacology; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D011280:Pregnanolone / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002243:Carbolines; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D018120:Finasteride; C035874:FG 7142; D011280:Pregnanolone; D004298:Dopamine