ALTERATIONS IN THE TURNOVER OF BRAIN NOREPINEPHRINE AND DOPAMINE IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT RATS

Abstract— The turnover of brain norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) was studied in five groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats under different conditions of alcohol treatment: no treatment, acute treatment while intoxicated, acute treatment subsequent to elimination of alcohol from the blood, alcohol-dependence while still intoxicated and alcohol-dependence during a withdrawal syndrome. Turnover was determined from the rate of depletion of brain catecholamine levels after inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase. In rats given a single dose of alcohol, NE turnover was increased, while DA turnover was unaffected during the few first hours after treatment. After that time the turnover of both NE and DA was reduced. In alcohol-dependent rats, whether intoxicated or undergoing a withdrawal syndrome, the turnover of NE was increased, while that of DA was decreased. These data suggest that catecholamines may mediate some of the symptoms of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome in the rat.