Abstract

The properties of dopamine (DA) release in the rat substantia nigra (SN) and striatum were investigated using high-speed chronoamperometric recordings in brain slices. In both brain regions, a 2-min bath superfusion with 30 mM KCl produced robust DA-like electrochemical signals, with the mean amplitude of the signal being >10-fold greater in the striatum than the SN. The reproducibility of the response was confirmed by a second stimulus (S2)/first-stimulus (S1) ratio of >0.8 in both regions. The bath application of tetrodotoxin significantly reduced the S2/S1 ratio in both the striatum and SN, implicating the requirement for voltage-sensitive sodium channels in the DA-release process. However, the application of cadmium chloride, a nonselective blocker of voltage-sensitive calcium channels, reduced the S2/S1 ratio only in the striatum and not within the SN. Moreover, removal of Ca²⁺ from the buffer did not significantly affect release within the SN, despite a >85% reduction in release within the striatum. In addition, although the D₂ receptor antagonist sulpiride enhanced the S2/S1 ratio in the striatum, no effect of this agent was seen in the SN. Finally, the application ofd-amphetamine produced DA-like electrochemical signals in both the striatum and SN. However, the amplitude of thed-amphetamine-evoked response, relative to the KCl-evoked release, was much smaller in the striatum than in the SN. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that differences in the mechanism or mechanisms of release exist between somatodendritic and axonal elements within the nigrostriatal pathway.