Acute effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on monoamines in rat caudate

Extracellular levels of dopamine (DA), 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and serotonin (5-HT) were assayed in the caudate of freely moving rats using microdialysis and high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC) to detect changes in their release. Dialysates were assayed at 20-minute intervals for four hours after an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of MDMA (10 mg/kg). In a separate study to determine MDMA effects on total caudate levels of the above neurochemicals, animals were injected IP with MDMA (10 mg/kg) and then sacrificed at 20, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after treatment. Brains were quickly removed, and caudate nuclei were dissected for neurochemical analysis using HPLC-EC. MDMA elicited an amphetamine-like increase in DA release, followed by an increase in DA content. DOPAC and HVA were both reduced in homogenate. 5-HT release was also increased, followed by a drop in caudate homogenate levels by three hours. DA extracellular content was 686% of control at 80 minutes; caudate homogenate levels were 122% at 120 minutes. 5-HT extracellular release was 123% at 20 minutes, then decreased thereafter. It is concluded that the acute effect of MDMA on caudate is at least as great on the DA as it is on the 5-HT system.