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The relative role of storage and synthesis of brain norepinephrine in the psychomotor stimulation evoked by amphetamine or by desipramine and tetrabenazine

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Summary

The relative role of storage and synthesis of brain norepinephrine in the psychomotor stimulation evoked by amphetamine or by desipramine and tetrabenazine has been investigated. The blockade of norepinephrine synthesis by the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor α-MT abolishes the central stimulatory action of amphetamine but not that evoked by tetrabenazine in DMI pretreated rats. In contrast, depletion of norepinephrine by α-MMT prevents the central stimulation evoked by the DMI-tetrabenazine combination but not that elicited by amphetamine. The α-methylated tyrosine derivatives do not interfere with either the metabolism of amphetamine and DMI or their entry into the brain. The results of the present studies, thus, are consistent with the views that the central action of amphetamine requires an uninterrupted synthesis of brain norepinphrine whereas a rapid release of norepinephrine from its storage sites is essential for the behavioral stimulation elicited by tetrabenazine in DMI pretreated rats.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee

    F. Sulser, M. L. Owens, M. R. Norvich & J. V. Dingell

  2. Psychopharmacology Research Center, Central State Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee

    F. Sulser, M. L. Owens, M. R. Norvich & J. V. Dingell

Authors
  1. F. Sulser
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  2. M. L. Owens
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  3. M. R. Norvich
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  4. J. V. Dingell
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Additional information

Presented in part before the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Mexico City, Mexico, July, 1966. Supported by N.I.M.H. Research Grant number MH 11468 from the United States Public Health Service.

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Sulser, F., Owens, M.L., Norvich, M.R. et al. The relative role of storage and synthesis of brain norepinephrine in the psychomotor stimulation evoked by amphetamine or by desipramine and tetrabenazine. Psychopharmacologia 12, 322–332 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401410

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401410

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