We compared in albino and pigmented rats the early effect of unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) on the concentrations of monoamines (norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin) and their respective metabolites--3-methoxy,4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA)--in medial vestibular nuclei (MVN), locus coeruleus, raphe dorsalis, and cochlear nuclei. The study was conducted 6 hours after UL in both strains, differing by the functional optokinetic responses of their central vestibular neurons and the time-course of their vestibular compensation. The results show that the monoaminergic changes are different in the two rat strains. In the MVN of albino rats, there was a bilateral increase of MHPG and an ipsilateral increase of dopamine suggesting activation of norepinephrine synthesis and metabolism, whereas no such changes were observed in the MVN of pigmented rats. On the other hand, the simultaneous increase of norepinephrine and DOPAC observed in the contralateral locus coeruleus of albino rats suggested enhanced norepinephrine synthesis, whereas in pigmented rats the decreased norepinephrine content found in the ipsilateral locus coeruleus might reflect an earlier strong stimulation of NE release. These biochemical results confirm the relevant role of locus coeruleus noradrenergic innervation in vestibular compensation and also point out the involvement of norepinephrine of the MVN in the early stages of this process. The different strain-related noradrenergic responses observed on the 6th hour suggest that the involvement of central norepinephrine, particularly from locus coeruleus innervation, may be more crucial and more sustained in the albino than in pigmented rats. No serotonin and 5HIAA changes were found in either brainstem nuclei of albino rats. In contrast, the increase of the ratio 5HIAA/5HT observed in raphe dorsalis, in ipsilateral locus coeruleus, and in both sides of MVN of pigmented rats suggested that UL induced an extended and enhanced utilization of 5HT in this strain.
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