PMID: 9181633May 1, 1997Paper

Enhancement by flumazenil of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of rats repeatedly exposed to diazepam or imidazenil

Psychopharmacology
C MotzoG Biggio

Abstract

The effect of long-term treatment (three times daily for 3 weeks) with a behaviorally relevant dose of the benzodiazepine receptor partial agonist imidazenil (0.5 mg/kg, IP) on basal dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats was compared with that of diazepam (3 mg/kg, IP), a benzodiazepine receptor full agonist. Challenge doses of imidazenil and diazepam decreased the extracellular dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens by approximately the same extent in animals repeatedly exposed to vehicle or to the respective drug. Moreover, the abrupt discontinuation of long-term treatment with diazepam or imidazenil failed to affect basal dopamine release in this brain area during the first 5 days of withdrawal. In contrast, administration of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil (4 mg/kg, IP) elicited a marked increase (95 or 60%) in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens 6 h after withdrawal of diazepam or imidazenil, respectively. Flumazenil induced a similar but smaller effect (50% increase) 5 days after diazepam withdrawal but had no effect 5 days after discontinuation of imidazenil treatment. The results support an involvement of the mesoaccumbens dopaminergic neurons in the withdrawal ...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 26, 2003·European Neuropsychopharmacology : the Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Giovanni BiggioPaolo Follesa
Dec 13, 2000·Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior·M H BeauchampR J Beninger
Dec 13, 2000·Brain Research. Developmental Brain Research·P KehoeC A Frye
Aug 19, 2003·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Wai Chung LeungHong Xue
Feb 26, 2008·Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior·Stephanie C Licata, James K Rowlett
Jul 11, 2006·Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society·William G Ondo, Yavuz S Silay
Aug 3, 2007·Brain Research·Lucas Baptista FontanesiManoel Jorge Nobre
Oct 22, 2017·The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics·Scott A SchelpErik B Oleson

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