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Effects of Amphetamine on Single Cell Activity in a Catecholamine Nucleus, the Locus Coeruleus

Nature volume 234, pages 100–102 (1971)Cite this article

Abstract

THE action of amphetamine on the central nervous system has been related to its ability to release and inhibit the re-uptake of dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) at presynaptic terminals1–4. Abundant catecholamine (CA) stores have been demonstrated in the cells of the locus coeruleus5–7. These two observations suggest that amphetamine causes the release and decreased re-uptake of CA from locus coeruleus cells. The drug, by promoting the accumulation of CA post-synaptically, might thereby initiate neuronal feedback inhibition of locus coeruleus units; such a mechanism has been postulated to explain biochemical observations on CA systems treated with amphetamine8. The opposite effect, feedback stimulation, has also been postulated to explain observations of the CA blocking effects of neuroleptics (chlorpromazine and haloperidol)9–11.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06519

    ALLAN W. GRAHAM & GEORGE K. AGHAJANIAN

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  1. ALLAN W. GRAHAM
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  2. GEORGE K. AGHAJANIAN
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GRAHAM, A., AGHAJANIAN, G. Effects of Amphetamine on Single Cell Activity in a Catecholamine Nucleus, the Locus Coeruleus. Nature 234, 100–102 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/234100b0

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