Dopaminergic neurons: simultaneous measurements of dopamine release and single-unit activity during stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle.

Simultaneous electrical and chemical recordings have been made of dopamine neuronal activity in the rat brain during electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle. Tungsten recording electrodes were placed at the level of the substantia nigra and carbon-fiber, Nafion-coated, voltammetric electrodes were placed in the neostriatum. Dopamine units, verified by histology to be in the zona compacta of the substantia nigra, were identified by previously established electrophysiological criteria. Dopamine release was detected by fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, a technique which allows dopamine to be determined in vivo on a sub-second time scale. The majority of dopamine cells examined (7 out of 10) were antidromically activated by 60 Hz stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle. The same stimulus also elicits dopamine overflow in the caudate nucleus. Following stimulation, dopamine concentrations in the extracellular fluid of the neostriatum rapidly declined to prestimulus levels. In addition, impulse flow in dopaminergic neurons was inhibited for 20 s following stimulation. These measurements represent the first direct observation from a neuronal tract of simultaneous unit activity and chemical release of a neurotransmitter in real time.