Effects of ethanol on turnover and function of striatal dopamine.

Acute oral administration of ethanol increased the rate of depletion of dopamine in the striata of rats injected with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine. This effect was eliminated by pretreatment with atropine or by lesioning of the striato-nigral tract. Ethanol also attenuated the inhibitory effect of apomorphine on turnover of striatal dopamine. Unilateral injection of ethanol into the neostriatum of rats followed by intraperitoneal injection of either apomorphine or amphetamine elicited marked ipsilateral head-to-tail body turning. This turning was blocked by pretreatment with haloperidol. Chronic intubation of ethanol to rats enhanced contralateral body turning elicited by unilateral intrastriatal injection of dopamine. Injection of 6-hydroxydopamine into the substantia nigra led to denervation supersensitivity of dopaminergic functions in the neostriatum. This effect was not seen in rats that were given ethanol postinjection of 6-hydroxydopamine. These results suggested that ethanol has an inhibitory effect on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system.