Summary
The effect of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and lisuride on the synthesis of monoamines was evaluated in rat brain regions using an in vivo method in which the accumulation of dopa and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is measured after inhibition of the aromatic amino acid decarboxylase by means of 3-hydroxybenzylhydrazine.
LSD (50–1000 μg/kg i.p.) caused a dose-dependent increase in dopa formation and a slight elevation of tyrosine and tryptophan concentrations in the intact rat forebrain; moreover, it reduced the accumulation of 5-HTP.
The increase in dopa formation in the terminal system of the rat forebrain following an axotomy of the ascending monoaminergic fiber system was antagonized by LSD at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg i.p. Haloperidol (2 mg/kg i.p.) counteracted the effect of LSD.
The increase in dopa formation in c. striatum and the dopamine-rich part of the limbic system following treatment with reserpine was antagonized by lisuride as well as by LSD. However, lisuride was at least 10 times as potent as LSD. In reserpinized animals LSD counteracted the inhibitory effect on dopa accumulation of the direct dopamine receptor stimulant apomorphine while lisuride did not. The data suggest that LSD is a weak agonist at dopamine receptors in vivo with partial receptor blocking properties at higher doses, while the action of lisuride on dopamine receptors is a potent, purely agonistic one.
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Kehr, W., Speckenbach, W. Effect of lisuride and LSD on monoamine synthesis after axotomy or reserpine treatment in rat brain. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 301, 163–169 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00507032
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00507032