6-Hydroxydopamine treatment and beta adrenergic receptor binding in kittens. Relation to visual cortical plasticity.

Under some circumstances intraventricular administration of 6-OHDA decreases visual cortical plasticity of kittens; the mechanism for this change is not known, but depletion of norepinephrine (NE) is not the entire explanation. We have examined the effects of 6-OHDA treatment on beta adrenergic receptor binding in kitten visual cortex. Subjects were given vehicle solution alone, a low dose of 6-OHDA which depleted cortical NE without affecting visuocortical plasticity, or a higher dose of 6-OHDA which depleted cortical NE and decreased visuocortical plasticity. Drugs were administered in single daily injections via intraventricular cannulas. Saturation assays were performed on homogenates of visual cortical tissue using 125I-pindolol (30-400 pM) along w/ isoproterenol (237 microM) as a cold competitor. We measured radioactivity bound to tissue and retained on filters and analyzed the data using the EBDA computer program (McPherson 1983, 1985); we determined the affinity constant (Kd) and receptor density (Bmax) in multiple assays for each animal. Despite 75-90% NE depletion in both experimental groups, only the group receiving the lower dose of 6-OHDA showed any evidence of supersensitivity. The Kds did not differ among the groups. The data suggest that the effects of 6-OHDA on visuocortical plasticity are not secondary to beta adrenergic supersensitivity.