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Cortical norepinephrine release elicited in situ by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor stimulation: a microdialysis
J Lehmann1, R Valentino, V Robine
1Department of Mental Health Sciences, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192.
Abstract:
Norepinephrine (NE) release measured by microdialysis from probes positioned in the prefrontal cortex of anesthetized rats was increased when N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) was contained in the microdialysis medium. NE release increased by a factor of 3.6 compared to prior baseline levels when 1 mM NMDA was applied for 30 min. This increase was largely reversible, and when a second stimulation was applied using aconitine (0.3 mM, 30 min), which acts on voltage-sensitive sodium channels, a second evoked release of NE was observed, of a similar magnitude as that evoked by NMDA. Dizocilpine (300 nM), which blocks cation channels associated with NMDA receptors, prevented the NMDA-elicited NE increase but not the aconitine-elicited increase.