gamma-Aminobutyric acid release in the globus pallidus in vivo after a 6-hydroxydopamine lesion in the substantia nigra of the rat.

This experiment was designed to determine whether the release of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the globus pallidus (GP) is affected by a lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway. Rats were lesioned with 6-hydroxydopamine 4 weeks prior to study of the in vivo release of GABA. A microdialysis probe was stereotaxically implanted in halothane-anesthetized animals in a vertical position on both GPs. The perfusates were analyzed for their GABA content with a high performance liquid chromatography technique. Compared to unlesioned controls, a marked decrease in the overflow of GABA was observed in the GP contralateral to the lesion, whereas the ipsilateral GP showed a slight increase. The differences between the sides were exaggerated after KCl (100 mmol) administration. The results are discussed in terms of a possible bilateral influence of dopamine terminals in the striatum on GABA transmission.