Nomifensine-induced c-fos mRNA expression in discrete brain areas of the developing rat

In rats, the subcutaneous injection of a dopamine uptake inhibitor, nomifensine (40 mg/kg), induced a significant increase in the c-fos mRNA levels in the neocortex on postnatal days 23 and 49, in the striatum on days 8, 14, 23 and 49, and in the hippocampus on day 23, when compared with saline administration. The repeated injection with nomifensine (40 mg/kg once daily) from postnatal days 49 to 53 and from 23 to 27, but not from days 8 to 12 and 14 to 18, resulted in an enhanced stereotypy response elicited by a subsequent challenge of the drug (5 mg/kg) 21 days after the last injection (behavioral sensitization). The present results suggest that the neuronal circuits regulated by nomifensine might undergo regionally-different developmental changes, which could be implicated in the development of behavioral expressions including nomifensine-induced stereotypy sensitization.