Microdialysis – Simultaneous Microdialysis and Behavioral Monitoring
Monitoring behavioral activity and microdialysis enables the investigator to establish the temporal relationship between neurochemical changes in the brain and behavioral function and provide support for a cause and effect relationship. It is well established that certain behavioral challenges, including numerous stress paradigms designed to detect therapeutic potential, produce dramatic changes in neurotransmitter levels in specific brain regions.
Simultaneous microdialysis and locomotor activity recordings in rats following amphetamine challenge (1 mg/kg s.c. at time 0 min). Top - Amphetamine caused a rapid increase in accumbal DA levels reaching a peak value at 40 min after administration. Extracellular levels of 5-HT were only moderately increased. Bottom – The increase locomotor activity corresponds well with the increase in DA levels during the test session.
Click here for more validation data.
The effects of MDMA on neurotransmitter levels and locomotion. Top – MDMA (Ecstasy) (3mg/kg s.c. at time 0 min) caused a rapid and massive increase in accumbal 5-HT release, whereas the levels of DA were only moderately affected. Bottom – There was a significant increase in locomotor activity corresponding to the increases in neurotransmitter levels.
