caa a22 4500 469121157 CHVBK 20180323133139.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e19920101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF02253583 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF02253583 Early postnatal clonidine treatment results in altered regional catecholamine utilisation in adult rat brain [Elektronische Daten] [Matthijs Feenstra, Hugo van Galen, Gerard Boer] Clonidine is a clinically used antihypertensive which has been suggested to produce physiological changes in children after exposure in utero. The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that chronic exposure of the developing brain to an α2-adrenergic agonist like clonidine would influence the adult neurochemical setting of central monoamine neurotransmitter systems. Male rat pups were treated from postnatal day 8 to 21 twice daily with saline or with 0.1 mg/kg clonidine. After the last injection on day 21, brain regional catecholamine utilisation was determined using synthesis inhibition with α-methyl-p-tyrosine in a subgroup of the pups. The expected decrease in noradrenaline utilisation after clonidine was observed, although statistical significance was not reached in a number of brain regions. Dopamine utilisation was not affected. The other pups were left to reach young adulthood and catecholamine utilisation was measured on day 90. Noradrenaline utilisation on day 90 was significantly decreased in two regions: the medulla-pons and the mesolimbic (dopamine projection) areas. Dopamine utilisation was decreased in the hypothalamus and increased in the amygdala and the cerebellum. These adult neurochemical alterations corroborate previous findings of adult behavioural, physiological and central biochemical alterations in rats exposed to clonidine in early postnatal life. Springer-Verlag, 1992 Brain development nationallicence Clonidine nationallicence Noradrenaline utilisation nationallicence Dopamine utilisation nationallicence Functional teratology nationallicence Feenstra Matthijs Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut van Galen Hugo Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut Boer Gerard Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut Psychopharmacology Springer-Verlag 106/1(1992-01-01), 19-25 0033-3158 106:1<19 1992 106 213 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02253583 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02253583 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Feenstra Matthijs Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- van Galen Hugo Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Boer Gerard Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, NL-1105 AZ, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Psychopharmacology Springer-Verlag 106/1(1992-01-01), 19-25 0033-3158 106:1<19 1992 106 213 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer