ATTENUATION OF ETHANOL INTAKE BY 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE UPTAKE BLOCKADE IN LABORATORY RATS .2. POSSIBLE INTERACTION WITH BRAIN NOREPINEPHRINE

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 241  (2) , 260-265
Abstract
Whether the attenuation of ethanol consumption following treatment with zimelidine (H102/09) could be due to an invasion of surplus serotonin into norepinephrine neurons was examined. To prevent this proposed invasion by serotonin, ethanol preferring animals were pretreated with desmethylimipramine (DMI), a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, prior to treatment with zimelidine. Apparently, animals treated in such a manner consumed significantly more ethanol than those animals treated with zimelidine alone. The attenuation of ethanol consumption after zimelidine treatment could be partly due to a serotonin-induced functional depletion of norepinephrine.