Turnover of catecholamines in some regions of the rat brain during prolonged vasopressin administration and after its withdrawal

Abstract

Turnover of noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) in some regions of the rat brain was determined after 1 and 3 weeks of daily injections of lysine vasopressin (LVP) and 2 weeks after the termination of 28-day LVP injections. Disappearance of 3H-DA was estimated in the hemispheres, brain stem and striatum and of 3H-NA in the hemispheres and brain stem after intraventricular injection of 3H-tyrosine. A significant acceleration of 3H-NA disappearance from the hemispheres was found in all the experimental animals and from the brain stem 3 weeks after LVP adminstration and 2 weeks after its withdrawal. No marked changes in dopamine turnover in the examined regions of the rat brain were found. Since prolonged vasopressin administration produces hypertension in the rat it seems likely that central NA, but not DA, plays a role in the vasopressin-induced hypertension.