Long-term effects of postnatal hypoxia and flunarizine on the dopaminergic system.

Long-term changes of learning behavior and of the striatal dopaminergic system were observed in a rat model of early postnatal hypoxia. Striatal dopamine (DA) concentration, K(+)-stimulated DA release from slices, and DA uptake into crude synaptosomal preparations (S1 fractions) were used as markers of the striatal DAergic system. Active avoidance learning was tested as behavioral criterion. Cyclodextrin and flunarizine were found to produce long-term effects on the DAergic system in control animals. While cyclodextrin normalized hypoxia-induced effects in DA release, flunarizine prevented those in DA uptake and improved avoidance learning.