Alcohol Withdrawal in Rats Is Associated with a Marked Fall in Extraneuronal Dopamine |
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| Authors: | Zvani L. Rossetti Franco Melis Susanna Carboni Marco Diana Gian Luigi Gessa |
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| Affiliation: | B.B. Brodie Department of Neuroscience, University of Cagliari, Italy. |
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| Abstract: | Withdrawal of rats from chronic ethanol (2-5 g/kg, every 6 hr for 6 days) resulted in withdrawal symptomatology and dramatic fall in extracellular dopamine (DA) in the ventral striatum as measured by microdialysis. The changes in DA output paralleled the withdrawal symptomatology and both phenomena were reversed by a challenge ethanol dose (5 g/kg orally). The results suggest that the decrease in DA output may be responsible for the aversive symptoms of withdrawal. |
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| Keywords: | Dopamine Microdialysis Ethanol Withdrawal Psychic Dependence |
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