Kainic acid: enduring alterations in cerebellar morphology and in cerebral catecholamine and GABA concentrations after cerebellar injection in the rat.

Kainic acid injected locally in the vermian cortex produces a focal lesion with severe cellular loss. Microscopic changes in 3-week-old preparations are given for both central and peripheral segments. Biochemical studies indicate that norepinephrine, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (gaba) concentrations in the forebrain are consistently higher on the side of the lesion and remain elevated for at least 3 weeks. It is postulated that disinhibition of cerebellar activity traversing the uncrossed pathway from cerebellar nuclei to catecholamine cell bodies was a major mechanism causing increased catecholamine metabolism in the ipsilateral forebrain.