Relation between the nature of psychotropic effects on emotional reactivity and behavior in stress situations and the status of the brain's catecholaminergic systems

Effects of psychotropic drugs on emotional reactivity and behavior under acute stress were studied in rats with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-HDA)-destroyed catecholaminergic brain terminals. The differences in emotional and behavioral reactivity were found in the group of animals who received 6-HDA. An abrupt reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase activity in corpus striatum of "emotional" rats correlates with noticeable difficulties in the behavior of escape out of stress and essential differences in the effects of psychotropic drugs whose action is mediated via the catecholamine neurotransmitter system.