PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - LEWIS S. SEIDEN
AU  - D. DOUGLAS PETERSON
TI  - BLOCKADE OF <span class="sc">l</span>-DOPA REVERSAL OF RESERPINE-INDUCED CONDITIONED AVOIDANCE RESPONSE SUPPRESSION BY DISULFIRAM
DP  - 1968 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
PG  - 84--90
VI  - 163
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/163/1/84.short
4100  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/163/1/84.full
SO  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther1968 Sep 01; 163
AB  - l-3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-dopa) causes a partial and temporary reversal of reserpine-induced suppression of a conditioned avoidance response (CAR). Disulfiram, a dopamine-β -hydroxylase inhibitor, reduced this effect of l-dopa by 50%. It was found that both dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) levels in brain increased as a result of the l-dopa injection (400 mg/kg) in mice pretreated with reserpine (2.5 mg/kg), although the relative increase in DA greatly exceeded that of NE. While DA levels increased to six to seven times normal, NE levels increased to only about 13% of normal. This small rise in NE was blocked by disulflram (400 mg/kg), and the behavioral effect noted suggests that this small increment is of functional importance. These results suggest that both DA and NE play a role in the maintenance of the CAR. © 1968, by The Williams & Wilkins Company