Effect of morphine dependence on the levels of neurosteroids and amino acid transmitters in rat nucleus accumbens / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To detect the effect of morphine dependence and withdrawal on the levels of neurosteroids and amino acid neurotransmitters in nucleus accumbens in rat morphine dependent model. Methods Nucleus accumbens was dissected out from morphine dependent and naloxone precipitated withdrawal rats. The contents of neurosteroids including dehydroepiandrosterone, pregnenolone, allopregnanolone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and pregnenolone sulfate were detected with liquid chromatography-negative atmospheric pressure with ionization mass spectrometry(LC-MS). The contents of glycine, glutamate and ?-aminobutyric acid were quantitated by HPLC-ECD with precolumn derivatization. Results Compared with saline group,in nucleus accumbens of morphine withdrawal rats, the level of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (P