Abstract
The spontaneous extracellular electrical activity of 102 neurons, within the caudate nucleus (CN), medial prefrontal cortex (MPC), nucleus accumbens (NAc) and a control site, the lateral thalamic nucleus (LT), was studied. Cocaine depressed spontaneous activity in the majority of the cells studied from all regions except the lateral thalamus. Desipramine, which has been used clinically for the treatment of withdrawal of cocaine, also depressed neuronal activity in the caudate nucleus. In addition, of the three receptor antagonists tested, sulpiride, methysergide and naloxone, only the dopamine antagonist (sulpiride) affected cocaine-induced neuronal responses. This study further emphasizes the emerging importance of midbrain dopaminergic systems in the pharmacological effects of this important drug of abuse.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 379-385 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Neuropharmacology |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1990 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- accumbens
- caudate
- cocaine
- cortex
- desipramine
- dopamine
- methysergide
- naloxone
- sulpiride
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience