Increased salsolinol levels in rat striatum and limbic forebrain following chronic ethanol treatment.

Endogenous levels of salsolinol and its methylated metabolite were measured by combined gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in rats chronically exposed to ethanol for 150 days. The chronic ethanol administration produced a significant increase of salsolinol concentrations in dopamine-rich brain areas, e.g., the striatum and the limbic forebrain. A negative correlation was observed between plasma ethanol concentration and the level of salsolinol in the brain. A possible role for salsolinol in the regulation of ethanol drinking and/or in the development of ethanol dependence is discussed.