Me. Rhodes et al., ENHANCEMENT OF HIPPOCAMPAL ACETYLCHOLINE-RELEASE BY THE NEUROSTEROID DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE-SULFATE - AN IN-VIVO MICRODIALYSIS STUDY, Brain research, 733(2), 1996, pp. 284-286
The effect of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) administered i.p.
on the release of acetylcholine (ACh) from the hippocampus of anesthe
tized rats was examined using in vivo microdialysis. DHEAS significant
ly increased ACh release above the pre-treatment levels for all doses
tested. The administration of 100 mg/kg significantly enhanced ACh rel
ease greater than 4-fold when compared to the saline-treated group 80
min following drug administration. This study is the first to demonstr
ate that the neurosteroid DHEAS, a negative allosteric modulator of th
e GABA(A) receptor, can enhance the release of ACh from neurons in the
hippocampus.