Changes in serotonin neurotransmission as assayed by microdialysis after acute, intermittent or chronic ethanol administration and withdrawal.

Background: The serotonergic neurotransmitter system is involved in many ethanol-induced changes, including many behavioural alterations, as well as contributing to alcohol dependence and its withdrawal.

Aims: This review has evaluated microdialysis studies where alterations in the serotonin system, that is, serotonin, 5-HT, or its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 5-HIAA, have been reported during different ethanol intoxication states, as well as in animals showing alcohol preference or not. Changes in 5-HT receptors and the 5-HT transporter are briefly reviewed to comprehend the significance of changes in microdialysate 5-HT concentrations.

Anxiolytic and antidepressive potentials of rosmarinic acid: A review with a focus on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders that have emerged as global health concerns. Anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs, such as benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and tricyclics, are the first line used in treating anxiety and depression. Although these drugs lack efficacy and have a delayed response time and numerous side effects, their widespread abuse and market continue to grow.

Changes in Brain Dopamine Extracellular Concentration after Ethanol Administration; Rat Microdialysis Studies.

Aims: The purpose of this review is to evaluate microdialysis studies where alterations in the dopaminergic system have been evaluated after different intoxication states, in animals showing preference or not for alcohol, as well as during alcohol withdrawal.

Methods: Ethanol administration induces varying alterations in dopamine microdialysate concentrations, thereby modulating the functional output of the dopaminergic system.

Results: Administration of low doses of ethanol, intraperitoneally, intravenously, orally or directly into the nucleus accumbens, NAc, increases mesolimbic dopamine, transmission, as shown by increases in dopamine content.

Production of reactive oxygen species following acute ethanol or acetaldehyde and its reduction by acamprosate in chronically alcoholized rats.

The salicylate trap method, combined with microdialysis, has been used to validate whether reactive oxygen species, particularly hydroxyl radicals, ((*)OH), are generated in the hippocampus of male Wistar rats after acute intraperitoneal administration of either ethanol, 2 and 3 g/kg, or acetaldehyde, 200 mg, or during the initial stages of ethanol withdrawal after chronic ethanol intoxication. Salicylate (5 mM) was infused into the hippocampus via the microdialysis probe and the products of its metabolism by hydroxyl radical, particularly 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3-DHBA) as well as 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHBA) assayed by HPLC (High Pressure Liquid Chromatography). Acetaldehyde, 200 mg/kg, and the higher acute dose of ethanol, 3 g/kg, induced transitory increases in 2,3-DHBA and 2,5-DHBA microdialysate content.

Effects of acamprosate on excitatory amino acids during multiple ethanol withdrawal periods.

Background: Our previous studies on the effects of acamprosate on enhanced locomotion during repeated withdrawals are now extended to the effects of acamprosate on excitatory amino acids in the hippocampus during repeated ethanol withdrawals.

Methods: In this study, Wistar rats were made ethanol dependent by 4 weeks of vapor inhalation. After this first cycle of chronic ethanol treatment, rats underwent repeated and alternate cycles of 24 hr withdrawals and 1 week of chronic ethanol treatment.

Excitatory and inhibitory amino acid changes during repeated episodes of ethanol withdrawal: an in vivo microdialysis study.

Changes in amino acid levels in the hippocampus during repeated ethanol withdrawal were studied. Wistar rats were made ethanol-dependent by 4-week vapour inhalation. After this first cycle of chronic ethanol treatment, rats underwent repeated and alternate cycles of 24 h of withdrawal followed by 1 week of chronic ethanol treatment.