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The Journal of Neuroscience, October 15, 1999, 19(20):9141-9148

Methamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity Alters Locomotor Activity, Stereotypic Behavior, and Stimulated Dopamine Release in the Rat

Tanya L. Wallace¹, Gary A. Gudelsky², and Charles V. Vorhees³

¹ Neuroscience Graduate Program, ² College of Pharmacy, and ³ The Children's Hospital Research Foundation, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267

The neurochemical evidence of methamphetamine (MA)-induced toxicity to dopaminergic nerve terminals is well documented; however, the functional consequences are not clearly defined. The present study was designed to investigate whether MA-induced dopamine depletions affect locomotor activity, stereotypic behavior, and/or extracellular dopamine concentrations in the neostriatum. Male rats were treated with a neurotoxic regimen of MA (10 mg/kg, i.p., every 2 hr for four injections) or vehicle and tested for functional effects 1 week later. Animals that had received the neurotoxic regimen of MA showed a reduction in both caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens dopamine contents of 56 and 30%, respectively. Furthermore, MA-treated rats exhibited a significant attenuation in spontaneous activity, as well as a significant diminution in MA (low dose)-stimulated locomotor activity as compared to vehicle-treated rats. However, there were no differences in the MA (low dose)-induced increases in extracellular dopamine concentrations in the caudate nucleus or the nucleus accumbens core of either group. Interestingly, the acute administration of higher doses of MA elicited a significantly augmented stereotypic response and a significantly attenuated increase in the extracellular concentration of dopamine in the caudate nucleus of rats treated with a neurotoxic regimen of MA as compared to vehicle-treated animals. These data indicate that MA-induced neurotoxicity results in abnormal dopamine-mediated behaviors, as well as a brain region-specific impairment in stimulated dopamine release.

Key words: methamphetamine; neurotoxicity; dopamine; behavior; in vivo microdialysis; stereotypy; locomotor activity; sensitization; rat

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Copyright © 1999 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/99/19209141-08$05.00/0

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