Voltammetry in vivo with a single working electrode may permit detection of striatal dopamine-serotonin interactions in anesthetized and freely moving rats.

We have recently improved the technique of differential pulse voltammetry to detect extracellular 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentrations in vivo with a single monopyrolytic carbon fibre electrode (working electrode). Thus it is now possible to perform a simultaneous evaluation of the turnover of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) in a specific brain area of anaesthetized or conscious freely moving rats. We have attempted to determine whether there is an interaction between the two neuronal systems in the striatum. Our results show that various pharmacological manipulations in anaesthetized or conscious freely moving rats alter the activity of both systems suggesting the presence of interactions between 5-HT and DA systems in brain.