[Implication of anterior hypothalamic dopamine in the regulation of arterial pressure].

The anterior hypothalamus is essential for the normal carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex. The dopamine innervation to this region is a projection from the dopaminergic A 14 cell group of the rostral hypothalamus. The anterior hypothalamic/preoptic region (AH/PO) was unilaterally superfused with buffer containing L-DOPA (10(-4) M) and the superfusate analyzed for dopamine using liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. A stable release of dopamine was analyzed for dopamine using liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. A stable release of dopamine was obtained within one hour. When the baroreceptor reflex loop was activated, a concomitant increase in dopamine release was observed. Lesions of the ventral noradrenergic bundle by a knife cut significantly increased the release of dopamine for at least two hours. The data are compatible with a tonic noradrenergic mechanism mediating an inhibitory control of dopamine release in the AH/PO. This dopaminergic involvement may play a functional role in blood pressure control.