THE EFFECT OF TRICYCLIC ANTI DEPRESSANTS ON CHOLINERGIC RESPONSES OF SINGLE CORTICAL NEURONES

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Abstract
The technique of microelectrophoresis was used in order to study the effects of tricyclic antidepressants on responses of single cortical neurones to acetylcholine. Both potentiation and antagonism of excitatory responses to acetylcholine could be observed after a brief application of imipramine or desipramine. A higher dose of the antidepressant was required to evoke antagonism than to evoke potentiation. Responses to carbachol were affected by desipramine similarly, suggesting that inhibition of Cholinesterase is not responsible for the potentiation of cholinergic responses. A brief application of atropine also had a dual effect on responses to acetylcholine. It is suggested that the potentiation of excitatory cholinergic responses by atropine and the antidepressants may be due to the blockade of masked inhibitory receptors.