Neurochemical and neuroanatomic effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in rats

Journal Article · Wed Mar 05 00:00:00 EST 1986 · Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6898821

Virus, R; Commins, D; Vosmer, G; Woolverton, W; Schuster, C; Seiden, L

Rats injected s.c. twice daily for 4 consecutive days with 10,20, or 40 mg/kg MDMA or saline and sacrificed 2 weeks after the last injection showed dose-dependent reductions in serotonin (5-HT) concentrations in hypothalamus, hippocampus (HIP), striatum (STR), somatosensory cortex (SC) and other cortical areas (CTX). 5-HT depletion was maximal in HIP (11.5 +/- 1.7%) and SC (15.3 +/- 3.2%, p<0.001 in both cases) at the 40 mg/kg MDMA dose. Forty mg/kg MDMA also reduced the amounts of dopamine (DA) in STR (78.2 +/- 6.4%, p<0.001) and of norepinephrine (NE) in HIP (74.5 +/- 6.4%, P<0.025) and CTX (77.9 +/- 6.1%, p<0.05). In addition, 20 mg/kg MDMA markedly reduced the number of (/sup 3/H)5-HT uptake sites (V/sub max/ 35.2% of control) without affecting the affinity (K/sub m/) in HIP. Fink-Heimer staining showed that rats injected s.c. twice daily for 2 days with 80 mg/kg MDMA had greater degeneration of nerve terminals in STR (p<0.005) and pyramidal cells in Layer III of SC (p<0.01) than did control rats. These results clearly suggest that repeated exposure to MDMA selectively damages serotonergic neurons in the central nervous system of rats.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Chicago, IL
• OSTI ID: 6898821
• Report Number(s): CONF-8604222-
• Journal Information: Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc. Exp. Biol.; (United States), Vol. 45:4; Conference: 70. annual meeting of the Federation of American Society for Experimental Biology, St. Louis, MO, USA, 13 Apr 1986
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMPHETAMINES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
DOPAMINE
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
NERVE CELLS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
NORADRENALINE
SEROTONIN
AFFINITY
BRAIN
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
RATS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
ADRENAL HORMONES
AMINES
ANALEPTICS
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
AZAARENES
AZOLES
BODY
CARDIOTONICS
CARDIOVASCULAR AGENTS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
DISTRIBUTION
DRUGS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HORMONES
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDOLES
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
MAMMALS
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NEUROREGULATORS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PHENOLS
POLYPHENOLS
PYRROLES
RADIOPROTECTIVE SUBSTANCES
RODENTS
SOMATIC CELLS
STEROID HORMONES
SYMPATHOMIMETICS
TRYPTAMINES
VERTEBRATES
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques
550901 - Pathology- Tracer Techniques