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Science 6 November 1981:
Vol. 214. no. 4521, pp. 683 - 685
DOI: 10.1126/science.7197394
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Articles

Science, Vol 214, Issue 4521, 683-685
Copyright © 1981 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Increased intracranial self-stimulation in rats after long-term administration of desipramine

HC Fibiger and AG Phillips

The effects of long- and short-term administration of the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine on intracranial self-stimulation in rats were studied with electrodes in the A10 region of the dopamine-containing cell bodies of the ventromedial tegmentum. Long-term desipramine administration resulted in a significant shift to the left in the ascending portion of the rate--current intensity function, indicating that the activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system was enhanced. These findings point to a possible dopaminergic mechanism of action of antidepressants and support speculations concerning the role of dopamine-containing neurons in the pathophysiology of depression.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Desipramine Facilitation of Initial Cocaine Abstinence.
F. H. Gawin, H. D. Kleber, R. Byck, B. J. Rounsaville, T. R. Kosten, P. I. Jatlow, and C. Morgan (1989)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 46, 117-121
   Abstract »    PDF »
Effortful and Automatic Cognitive Processes in Depression.
P. P. Roy-Byrne, H. Weingartner, L. M. Bierer, K. Thompson, and R. M. Post (1986)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 43, 265-267
   Abstract »    PDF »


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