[Neurotransmitter changes in the rat brain under combined intoxication induced by alcohol and morphine]

We investigated the levels of biogenic monoamines and their metabolites in the rat hypothalamus, midbrain and cerebellum in acute complex intoxication with morphine and alcohol. The distinctive features of neurotransmitter disorders in various parts of the rat brain under a single exposure to ethanol and morphine, as well as the differences between acute morphine-alcohol and alcohol-morphine intoxication were established. Complex intoxication with alcohol and morphine resulted in signs of dopamine consumption only in the hypothalamus, regardless of the order of alcohol and morphine administration. Under conditions of alcohol-morphine intoxication an increase in the level of metabolites of the serotonergic system was noted in the investigated parts of the brain. In the midbrain and cerebellum the manifestation of combined action of ethanol and morphine is mainly determined by the effect of the last of the administered substances. There are features of changes in the indices of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in these experimental conditions, confirmed by the processes of dopamine catabolism and a decrease in the norepinephrine and serotonin concentration in the hypothalamus, which are not observed under individual action of ethanol and morphine.