Stimulatory and inhibitory effects of ethanol on hippocampal acetylcholine release

Using the microdialysis technique and sensitive HPLC procedures for the determination of acetylcholine (ACh) and ethanol, we investigated the release of ACh in rat hippocampus after acute ethanol administration. Systemic administration of ethanol (0.8 and 2.4 g/kg i.p.) led to peak ethanol concentrations of 21 and 42 mM in the hippocampus, respectively. The high dose caused a long-lasting inhibition of basal ACh release by up to 33%. Local infusion of scopolamine (1 microM) enhanced hippocampal ACh release up to eightfold in the presence of neostigmine (10 microM), and this stimulated release was also inhibited after systemic ethanol administration (by up to 45%). The low dose of ethanol (0…

Enhancement of Hippocampal Acetylcholine Release by Local Ethanol Infusion

Among the multiple pathological changes in the CNS which are associated with ethanol intoxication (1), an impairment of cognitive functions is one of the most consistent findings. This impairment may be due to a damage of central cholinergic systems. Long-term administration of ethanol causes neurodegenerative changes in the cholinergic basal fore-brain neurons of rats and humans (2), and in the rat, these changes are accompanied by a reduction of the release of acetylcholine (ACh) in the hippocampal and cortical target regions of basal forebrain neurons (3). Moreover, experimental studies have documented that ethanol-induced dysfunctions of memory and learning can be ameliorated by cholino…

Stimulatory influence of ethanol on the septohippocampal cholinergic pathway. A role for GABA receptors?

Intestinal ischaemia during cardiac arrest and resuscitation: comparative analysis of extracellular metabolites by microdialysis.

Intestinal ischaemia is a major complication of shock syndromes causing translocation of bacteria and endotoxins and multiple organ failure in intensive care patients. The present study was designed to use microdialysis as a tool to monitor intestinal ischaemia after cardiac arrest and resuscitation in pigs. For this purpose, microdialysis probes were implanted in pig jejunal wall, peritoneum, skeletal muscle and brain, and interstitial fluid was obtained during circulatory arrest (induced by ventricular fibrillation) and after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Cardiac arrest for 4 min caused a prolonged (60 min) reduction of blood flow in jejunal wall, muscle and brain as determine…