Changes in brain catecholamine levels following olfactory bulbectomy and the effect of acute and chronic administration of desipramine in rats.

Bilateral olfactory bulbectomy of the rat caused marked changes of noradrenaline level in several brain regions accompanied with the development of mouse-killing behavior (muricide). Noradrenaline level increased in the medial amygdala, ventromedial and lateral hypothalamus in muricidal olfactory bulbectomized rats (OB rats) but not in non-muricidal OB rats, while dopamine level decreased in the lateral hypothalamus in muricidal OB rats. Acute administrations of desipramine not only suppressed muricide of OB rats but normalized noradrenaline change in ventromedial hypothalamus and dopamine change in lateral hypothalamus. Chronic administration of desipramine also suppressed muricide and normalized noradrenaline changes in ventromedial and lateral hypothalamus and medial amygdala. These findings suggest that the increase in noradrenaline levels in the medial amygdala, ventromedial and lateral hypothalamus may be important for the induction of muricide in OB rats, and muricide was suppressed by desipramine in accordance with the normalization of increased noradrenaline levels, and that the change in dopaminergic function in the lateral hypothalamus may also be important for this muricide.