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Inhibition of phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase and brain-stimulated reward

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Abstract

Three centrally active inhibitors of phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase (PNMT; E.C.2.1.1.28), the terminal enzyme for epinephrine biosynthesis in the brain, produced dose-related decreases in rates of responding for rewarding brain stimulation in adult male rats. Decreases occurred at dosages that did not produce measurable neurologic impairment. This suggests a possible role for central epinephrine-containing neurons in the maintenance of reward-mediated behaviors.

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Katz, R.J., Carroll, B.J. Inhibition of phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase and brain-stimulated reward. Psychopharmacology 57, 39–42 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00426955

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