Skip to main content
. 2011 May 5;6(5):e19600. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019600

Figure 6. Striatal dopamine system dynamics in pmch −/− rats.

Figure 6

(A) Electrically evoked control dopamine release is similar between genotypes in the CPu, but is increased in the NAc of pmch −/− rats compared to pmch +/+ rats. Electrically evoked dopamine release in both the CPu and NAc of pmch −/− rats is increased compared to pmch +/+ rats after treatment with GBR12909, a highly specific dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitor. Data is shown in comparison to wild-type control release as 100% (dotted line; *P<0.005, Students' t-test; n = 4 per group). (B) DAT expression is increased in the CPu, AcbCo, and the AcbSh of pmch −/− rats compared to pmch +/+ rats. Brain areas are indicated on an atlas section from Paxinos and Watson [72] (*P<0.05, Students' t-test; n = 8–11 per group). (C) Relative gene expression of a subset of genes involved in dopaminergic storage capacity and dopamine signaling in the NAc of adult pmch +/+ and pmch −/− rats revealed an increased trend of Vmat2 and Syn1 in pmch −/− rats compared to pmch +/+ rats (P = 0.067 and P = 0.069 by Students' t-test, respectively; n = 8–9 per group). (D) Average basal extracellular AcbSh dopamine levels did not differ between fasting pmch +/+ and pmch −/− rats (n = 7 per group). Data are shown as mean ± S.E.M.