Effect of Electroconvulsive Shock on the Uptake and Release of Noradrenaline and 5‐Hydroxytryptamine in Rat Brain Slices

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Abstract
The uptake and release of [3H]noradrenaline [norepinephrine] and [3H]-5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) were studied in cerebral cortex slices from rats 30 min and 24 h after a single electroconvulsive shock (ECS) [as used in antidepressant therapy] and 24 h after a series of 5 shocks given over 10 days. Both the Km and Vmax for 5-HT uptake were lower than controls 24 h after a single ECS, whereas after 5 ECS spread over 10 days both parameters remained depressed, though only the fall in Vmax was significant. Noradrenaline uptake was not altered after a single ECS, but the Vmax and Km were elevated following chronic ECS treatment. Neither ECS treatment schedule had any effect on the K-stimulated release of either transmitter. Possibly the changes in monoamine uptake seen following ECS are an adaptive response to alterations in the synaptic cleft concentration of these transmitters.