Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

Oral administration of the antiobesity drugs, sibutramine and rimonabant, increases acetylcholine efflux selectively in the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat

Molecular Psychiatry volume 13, pages 240–241 (2008)Cite this article

An important physiological role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) mechanisms in the regulation of hunger and satiety has been indicated in both experimental animals and humans.1, 2 Forebrain cholinergic systems are essential for cognitive processes, such as learning, memory and attention,3 and procholinergic drugs are procognitive in the clinic.3, 4 Importantly, obesity appears to be comorbid with disease states characterized by cognitive impairment, for example, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).5 It is hypothesized that an integral prefrontal cortical function, especially in the right hemisphere, might be critical for appetite and eating control, as well as for better long-term adherence to therapeutic interventions.2, 6

We have recently shown that clinically established ADHD drugs increase acetylcholine (ACh) efflux preferentially in the medial PFC of rats, a neurochemical effect that may be related to their therapeutic action.4 We sought to investigate the effects of the efficacious antiobesity drugs,7 sibutramine (a monoamine reuptake inhibitor) and rimonabant (a cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist), on ACh efflux in the PFC and in a subcortical brain region implicated in food reward/reinforcement processes, the nucleus accumbens (NAC), of freely moving rats by in vivo microdialysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

References

  1. Petrovich GD, Ross CA, Holland PC, Gallagher M . J Neurosci 2007; 27: 6436–6441.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Tataranni PA, Gautier J-F, Chen K, Uecker A, Bandy D, Salbe AD et al. Proc Natt Acad Sci USA 1999; 96: 4569–4574.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Everitt BJ, Robbins TW . Annu Rev Psychol 1997; 48: 649–684.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tzavara ET, Bymaster FP, Overshiner CD, Davis RJ, Perry KW, Wolff M et al. Mol Psychiatry 2006; 11: 187–195.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bazar KA, Yun AJ, Lee PY, Daniel SM, Doux JD . Med Hypotheses 2006; 66: 263–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Alonso-Alonso M, Pascual-Leone A . JAMA 2007; 297: 1819–1822.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hofbauer KG, Nicholson JR, Boss O . Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 2007; 47: 565–592.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tzavara ET, Davis RJ, Perry KW, Li X, Salhoff C, Bymaster FP et al. Br J Pharmacol 2003; 138: 544–553.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Degroot A, Kofalvi A, Wade MR, Davis RJ, Rodrigues RJ, Rebola N et al. Mol Pharmacol 2006; 70: 1236–1245.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Gundlah C, Martin KF, Heal DJ, Auerbach SB . J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1997; 283: 581–591.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eli Lilly & Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Neuroscience Discovery Research, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    R J Davis & G G Nomikos

  2. Amgen Inc., Cambridge Research Center, Cambridge, MA, USA. E-mail: gnomikos@amgen.com,

    R J Davis & G G Nomikos

Authors
  1. R J Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G G Nomikos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davis, R., Nomikos, G. Oral administration of the antiobesity drugs, sibutramine and rimonabant, increases acetylcholine efflux selectively in the medial prefrontal cortex of the rat. Mol Psychiatry 13, 240–241 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4002112

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4002112

Search

Advanced search

Quick links