Nicotinic Cholinergic Receptors in Rat Brain.

摘要

We have conducted experiments to determine if 3H acetylcholine (3Hach) nicotinic recognition sites are located presynaptically on catecholamine and/or serotonin axons. Lesions of these axons by intraventricular injections of neurotoxins resulted in marked decreases in 3Hach binding sites in the striatum and hypothalamus, but not in the cortex or thalamus. These results indicate that 3Hach nicotinic binding sites are located on catecholamine and serotonin axons in specific areas of the brain. In other experiments, we determined that repeated administration of nicotine results in enhanced behavioral responses to a subsequent injection of nicotine, and that there appears to be a correlation between the enhanced response to nicotine and increased 3Hach binding sites in cerebral cortex. (JS)