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Different Effects of Opiate Withdrawal on Dopamine Turnover, Uptake, and Release in the Striatum and Nucleus Accumbens

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Abstract

The purpose of these experiments was to further characterize changes in dopaminergic function that follow withdrawal from chronic opiate treatment. Withdrawal after treatment to a maximum dose of 120 mg/kg of morphine did not alter dopamine concentrations in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, striatum, or nucleus accumbens; but did decrease concentrations of DOPAC and the ratio of DOPAC to dopamine in the lateral striatum and nucleus accumbens. Uptake of tritiated dopamine was diminished for withdrawn slices obtained from the striatum with no effect observed for tissue from the nucleus accumbens. Deficits of in vitro release of tritiated dopamine also occurred following withdrawal, with the nucleus accumbens being sensitive to dependence produced by a lower dose of morphine. In conclusion, opiate withdrawal produces a complex pattern of effects on dopaminergic function that is specific for the striatum and nucleus accumbens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, 08903

    Suchandra Ghosh, Amrish H. Patel & Kenneth Grasing

  2. The Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences, University of Chicago, 947 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637

    Michael Cousins

  3. New Brunswick, NJ, 08903

    Kenneth Grasing

  4. UMDNJ Clinical Research Center, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, One Robert Wood Johnson Place, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903-0019

    Kenneth Grasing

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  1. Suchandra Ghosh
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  4. Kenneth Grasing
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Ghosh, S., Patel, A.H., Cousins, M. et al. Different Effects of Opiate Withdrawal on Dopamine Turnover, Uptake, and Release in the Striatum and Nucleus Accumbens. Neurochem Res 23, 875–885 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022463029351

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