Electrical stimulation of the midbrain tectum enhances dopamine release in the frontal cortex

One widely used animal model of anxiety is the electrical stimulation of a given structure supposed to be involved in the neural circuitry underlying emotional behavior. Indeed, electrical stimulation of midbrain structures with substrates for the processing of fear-like responses, such as the dorsal periaqueductal gray matter (DPAG) or the inferior colliculus (IC), produces behavioral, sensorial and autonomic responses very similar to the defense reactions observed in environmental threatening situations. It has also been proposed that the required level of integration of all these components of the defense reaction needs an integrative process situated at higher brain level, as the prefrontal cortex. As a matter of fact, substantial cortical inputs to the midbrain tectum have already been found. In view of this evidence, it seems important to know whether animals stimulated in the midbrain tectum would present neurochemical changes in the prefrontal cortex. To this end, we examined the temporal course of the effects of the electrical stimulation of the DPAG and IC on the dopamine (DA) release in the prefrontal cortex. Electrical stimulation of these structures was performed at the alertness (control) and escape thresholds. Electrical stimulation of the inferior colliculus at the escape threshold produced a long-lasting increase in the levels of corticofrontal dopamine in relation to these measurements in the control group. No significant changes in extracellular DA release in this cortical area could be observed following DPAG electrical stimulation. These findings bring evidence for the involvement of dopamine of the frontal cortex in the setting up of adaptive responses to stressful situations generated at the inferior colliculus level.