Administration of amphetamine does not increase the functional efficacy of dopaminergic grafts made in infancy

Previous reports have evoked the possibility that a priming stimulation of grafted dopaminergic (DA) neurones by amphetamine enhances their efficacy in behavioural tests performed several days later. The present study was designed to test this hypothesis. Five days after the unilateral destruction of the DA mesotelencephalic system of 3-day-old rat pups, DA grafts were implanted into the denervated neostriatum of half of the lesioned pups. At adulthood, lesion and graft groups were subdivided into 4 subgroups which received one of the following treatments: saline or amphetamine injection in an environment where the behavioural test was subsequently conducted (paired environment) or in an unrelated environment (unpaired environment). Five days later, rotational response to a tail-pinch stress was tested in the paired environment. In these conditions, we found no evidence for a priming effect of amphetamine. Animals that received amphetamine or saline in the unpaired environment displayed the same rotational response to the tail-pinch stress. On the other hand, a conditioning influence of the environment was detected. Thus, the effect previously described might have been caused by a conditioning effect and/or might be due to differences in the experimental conditions. This suggests that 'priming' the graft with amphetamine does not provide a general strategy to enhance the functional efficacy of DA grafts.