Temporal profile of aminergic neurotransmitter release in striatal dialysates in rats with post-ischemic seizures

The temporal profiles of aminergic neurotransmitter levels and of their acid metabolites after transient global cerebral ischemia in awake rats with and without subsequent seizures were compared using a microdialysis approach. In seizure animals, the post-ischemic levels of dopamine and serotonin were higher than the levels observed in the non-seizure controls. Inversely, the levels of the three neurotransmitter metabolites increased rapidly in the controls but not in seizure animals, where they remained at the low levels observed during and immediately after ischemia. This particular pattern is similar to that observed in rats submitted to prolonged ischemia or pretreated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors. In the seizure animals, neurotransmitter metabolites remained at low levels, as if the hypoxia had continued after the period of ischemia, inhibiting monoamine oxidase activity and, perhaps, neurotransmitter recapture.