Electroconvulsive shock and cyclic AMP signal transduction: effects distal to the receptor.

Chronic electroconvulsive shock (ECS) induced a significant decrease in noradrenaline- and forskolin-stimulated cyclic AMP production in rat cortical slices, whereas a single ECS had a much smaller effect. In a cortical membrane preparation, adenylate cyclase activity in response to stimulation by forskolin, guanosine-5'-(beta,gamma-imido) triphosphate, and Mn2+ ions was significantly increased in membranes derived from rats that had received chronic ECS, but was either unchanged or reduced in membranes from rats that received a single treatment only. The results are interpreted in terms of changes occurring at components of the adenylate cyclase enzyme distal to the receptor.