Rapid changes in striatal ascorbate in response to tail-pinch monitored by constant potential voltammetry

The first peak in the voltammogram recorded with linear sweep and a carbon paste electrode implanted in the rat striatum is due to the oxidation of ascorbic acid. When the potential is held at a level slightly positive to this peak a current is recorded which is abolished by the microinjection of ascorbic acid oxidase in the vicinity of the electrode; this suggests that it is due to the oxidation of ascorbate. This current shows the same diurnal variation as the size of the ascorbate peak and its rise and fall coincides with the onset and offset of motor activity. A tail-pinch applied through a paper clip causes an immediate rise in the ascorbate current which begins to fall as soon as the paper clip is removed. Measurement of the ascorbate current at constant potential provides a technique for monitoring rapid changes in extracellular brain ascorbate in response to physiological stimuli.