PRESSURE INCREASES DE-NOVO SYNTHESIZED STRIATAL DOPAMINE RELEASE IN FREE-MOVING RATS

WHEN human divers or experimental animals are exposed to high pressure , they develop brain and biobehavioural disorders. Since it has been d emonstrated that pressure exposure increased striatal DA release, the present experiments were intended to investigate whether it resulted f rom a release in de novo synthesized DA or from a release of DA stores . Free-moving rats implanted with multi-fibre fibre carbon electrodes sensitive to DA were preteated with reserpine, a depleter of catechola mine stores, and compressed to 8MPa. Results show that pretreatment wi th reserpine had no ability to block the pressure-induced DA release. In the light of previous relevant studies, we suggested that the eleva tion of DA release under high pressure would be the consequence of a r elease in de novo synthesized DA.