The interactive effects of ketamine and ethanol on dopamine expression in the ventral tegmental area of rats

Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
Zhi-Bi ZhangJin-Yun Gu

Abstract

A number of studies have demonstrated the significant and rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine, which is also known as a neurotoxic and illicit drug. Ketamine and alcohol are increasingly used together in clubs by teenagers and young adults. Previous studies have proven that chronic ketamine consumption induces a delayed and persistent activation of the dopamine (DA) system. However, the rewarding properties of recreational ketamine abuse remain unclear, and the underlying mechanisms of the effects on the DA system after administration of ketamine with ethanol are yet to be explored. Here, we evaluated the effects of two different doses of ketamine (30 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg) with and without ethanol (0.3156 g/kg) on DA concentration in the rat's ventral tegmental area (VTA), a vital region in the reward and motivation system. We explored the effects of the combined drug treatment on the expression profiling of the DA metabolism genes, tyrosine hydroxylase, dopa decarboxylase, vesicular monoamine transporter 2, and synaptosomal-associated protein 25, as well as protein expression level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the rat's VTA. We found that administration of ketamine with ethanol led to a significant increase of DA...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 29, 2020·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Caroline E Strong, Mohamed Kabbaj

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
ELISA
PCR
electrophoresis

Software Mentioned

Image Pro Plus
Primer

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