The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine increases both noradrenaline and dopamine release in the rat prefrontal cortex.
Quetiapine is a novel atypical antipsychotic drug with multi-receptorial affinity. Using in vivo microdialysis, we investigated if quetiapine modulates extracellular noradrenaline and dopamine in brain areas generally believed to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and in the action of antipsychotic drugs. Quetiapine (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, i.p.) increased levels of noradrenaline in both the prefrontal cortex and the caudate nucleus, while it increased dopamine levels mainly in the prefrontal cortex. It is argued that the marked increase of dopaminergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex induced by quetiapine might be relevant to its therapeutical action.
Pira
Luigi
L
Neuroscienze PharmaNess SCaRL, via Palabanda 9, 09124 Cagliari, Italy. luigi.pira@pharmaness.it
Mongeau
Raymond
R
Pani
Luca
L
D000818:Animals; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D003987:Dibenzothiazepines; D000069348:Quetiapine Fumarate; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine