INCREASE OF EXTRACELLULAR DOPAMINE IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX - A TRAITOF DRUGS WITH ANTIDEPRESSANT POTENTIAL

Drugs differing in their primary mechanism of action but having in com mon the ability to act as antidepressants such as fluoxetine (10 mg/kg SC), clomipramine (10 mg/kg IP), imipramine (10 mg/kg IP), desipramin e (10 mg/kg IP) and (+/-)8-OHDPAT (0.03 mg/kg SC) increase extracellul ar concentrations of dopamine in the rat prefrontal cortex but not in the medial nucleus accumbens. Buspirone (1 mg/kg SC) increased dopamin e both in the prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens. Extracel lular 5HT was increased by fluoxetine, clomipramine and imipramine but not by desipramine while 8-OHDPAT and buspirone decreased it. These r esults raise the possibility that the property of stimulating dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex has a role in the antidepressan t properties of these drugs.