Summary
The present study compares the effects of d-amphetamine (d-AMP) and the potent non-amphetamine CNS stimulant, amfonelic acid (AFA), on the firing rate of single midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons and on neostriatal DA metabolism (dihydroxyphenylacetic acid—DOPAC). The results indicate that AFA, like d-AMP, reduces the firing rate of DA neurons, although unlike d-AMP, AFA does not cause a decrease in neostriatal DOPAC content and, in fact, enhances that produced by haloperidol (HALO). The AFA-induced decrease in firing rate, like d-AMP, is reversed by the DA receptor blocker HALO, but again unlike d-AMP, the decrease in firing rate is not prevented by catecholamine synthesis inhibition withα-methyl-para-tyrosine. Thus, both amphetamine and amfonelic acid have identical electrophysiological effects on DA neurons but act by different mechanisms.
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German, D.C., Harden, H., Sanghera, M.K. et al. Dopaminergic neuronal responses to a non-amphetamine CNS stimulant. J. Neural Transmission 44, 39–49 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01252700
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01252700