Elsevier

Behavioural Brain Research

Volume 35, Issue 2, 1 November 1989, Pages 117-125
Behavioural Brain Research

Estrous cycle-dependent variation in amphetamine-induced behaviors and striatal dopamine release assessed with microdialysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-4328(89)80112-3Get rights and content

Estrous cycle-dependent variation in amphetamine (AMPH)-stimulated behaviors and striatal dopamine (DA) release were determined for freely moving rats undergoing intracerebral microdialysis. There was greater AMPH-stimulated striatal DA release in the striatum of rats in estrus, during the period from 20 min to 100 min post-AMPH, compared with the response of rats in diestrus (P<0.05). Animals in estrus also showed less general activity and greater intensity of stereotyped behaviors than did animals in diestrus (P<0.05). Independent experiments examining estrous cycle-dependent differences in AMPH-stimulated striatal DA release in vitro also found that AMPH-stimulated striatal DA release was greater on estrus than on diestrus (P<0.05). Thus, striatal DA release and behaviors induced by AMPH are modulated by ovarian hormones. The heightened responsiveness to AMPH during estrus suggests that estrogen and/or progesterone potentiate the striatal DA response to AMPH.

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