In vivo stimulated dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens: modulation by the prefrontal cortex.

In vivo voltammetry was used to measure stimulated dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens following 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC). Lesions of the PFC resulted in a significant potentiation of K(+)-stimulated DA release (383% of control). These data are in agreement with other studies which suggest DAergic activation of cortical sites can alter the activity of DAergic neurons at subcortical sites. Specifically these results suggest that DAergic nerve terminals in the nucleus accumbens are tonically inhibited by DAergic activity in the PFC and that alleviation of this tonic inhibition produces hyperresponsiveness in the nucleus accumbens.