Evidence for a selective brain noradrenergic involvement in the locomotor stimulant effects of amphetamine in the rat.

Male rats received the noradrenaline neurotoxin DSP4 (50 mg/kg) 7 days prior to injection of D-amphetamine (10 or 40 mumol/kg i.p.). The hyperactivity induced by D-amphetamine (10 mumol/kg) was significantly reduced by DSP4 pretreatment. However, the increased rearings and the amphetamine-induced stereotypies were not blocked by pretreatment with DSP4. The reduction of amphetamine hyperactivity induced by DSP4 was blocked by pretreatment with the noradrenaline-uptake blocking agent, desipramine, which prevents the neurotoxic action of DSP4. The present results suggest a selective involvement of central noradrenergic neurones in the locomotor stimulant effect of amphetamine in the rat.