Phencyclidine suppresses the activity of midbrain dopamine-containing neurons recorded from mouse brain slices in vitro

Effects of phencyclidine on spontaneous and excitatory amino acid-induced activity of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons: an extracellular in vitro study

Extracellular single-unit recordings in rat midbrain slices were used to assess the effects of phencyclidine (PCP) on the spontaneous and excitatory amino acid-induced firing of ventral tegmental (VTA) dopamine neurons. Perfusion with PCP concentrations from 10 nM to 100 microM resulted in only minimal decreases in firing rate. Neither excitatory effects nor changes in firing pattern were ever observed upon exposure to PCP. In contrast, PCP selectively antagonized the stimulatory effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), but did not alter alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole proprionic acid (AMPA)- or kainate (KA)-induced excitations. These results are discussed in relation to the low-dose stimulatory effects of PCP on ventral tegmental A10 dopamine neurons in the whole animal preparation.

Electrophysiological effects of MK-801 on rat nigrostriatal and mesoaccumbal dopaminergic neurons

The electrophysiological effects of the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist (+)-MK-801 (MK-801) on nigrostriatal and mesoaccumbal dopaminergic (DA) neurons were evaluated in chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. MK-801 (0.05-3.2 mg/kg, i.v.) stimulated the firing rates of 14 (74%) of 19 nigrostriatal DA (NSDA) neurons and all 16 mesoaccumbal DA (MADA) neurons tested. Stimulatory effects of the drug were more prominent on MADA neurons. Interspike interval analysis revealed that MK-801 also regularized DA neuronal firing pattern. Acute brain hemitransection between the midbrain and forebrain attenuated the stimulatory effects of MK-801 on firing rate and blocked the effects on firing pattern. Similar to MK-801, hemitransection itself increased NSDA and MADA cell firing rates and regularized firing pattern. Both i.v. and iontophoretic MK-801 blocked the excitatory effects of iontophoretic NMDA but did not affect excitations caused by the non-NMDA glutamatergic receptor agonists quisqualate and kainate. Iontophoretic MK-801 had no effect alone. These results suggest that the excitatory effects of i.v. MK-801 on DA neuronal activity are not due to direct actions on DA neurons. Glutamatergic projections originating anterior to the hemitransection appear to play a role in the effects of MK-801 on DA neuronal activity.

Neurophysiology and neurochemistry of drug dependence: a review

To understand the neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms of drug dependence, the functional significance of dopamine, noradrenaline and endogenous opioid peptides in the mediation of natural, self-stimulation and pharmacological reinforcement are discussed. Data on search of system(s), mediator(s) and neurons of reinforcement as well as my own notions on reinforcement as a critical element in organization and regulation of the organism's adaptive activity in variable environments are presented. The role of chronic drug-induced stable modification of central neurochemical systems' functioning as a basis for the alteration of endogenous reinforcement processes and raising drug dependence are examined in detail for main addictive drugs, opiates and psychomotor stimulants.