Role of D1 and α1 receptors in the enhanced locomotor response to dopamine D2-like receptor stimulation induced by repeated electroconvulsive shock

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Abstract
We previously reported that, in rats chronically treated with the antidepressant drug imipramine, the enhanced locomotor response to the D2-like receptor agonist quinpirole became less sensitive to the inhibitory effect of the D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23390 and more sensitive to the inhibitory effect of the α1 receptor antagonist prazosin. In this study, we show that in electroconvulsive shock-treated rats these antagonists behave in the opposite manner to that observed in imipramine-treated rats, with SCH 23390 being highly effective and prazosin ineffective in antagonizing the locomotor response to quinpirole. The possibility that these differences may reflect some of the clinical characteristics of these antidepressant treatments is discussed.