Abstract
The effects of chronic diazepam administration to rats on the central release of [3H]-5-hydroxytryptamine ([3H]-5-HT) and [14C]-gamma-aminobutyric acid ([14C]-GABA, ex vivo) were examined. Chronic (5 and 21 days) administration of diazepam (4 mg kg-1 i.p. daily for 21 days) reduced the K-evoked (20 mM KCl) release of [3H]-5-HT from frontal cortex by approximately 50%. Remarkably, this decrease was still present 1 week after diazepam withdrawal. Chronic diazepam treatment did not significantly affect hippocampal [3H]-5-HT release but after 21 days the K-evoked release of [14C]-GABA was more than doubled and remained elevated 30 h after withdrawal; it returned to control levels after 1 week, and decreased below control levels after 2 weeks. This study indicates that chronic diazepam treatment produces striking changes in transmitter release in rats that persist long after treatment has ceased.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 11-12 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | British Journal of Pharmacology |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 1990 |
Keywords
- Animals
- Brain Chemistry/drug effects
- Cerebral Cortex/drug effects
- Diazepam/pharmacology
- Hippocampus/drug effects
- Male
- Rats
- Serotonin/metabolism
- Substance Withdrawal Syndrome/metabolism
- gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism