Skip to main content
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1972 Nov;46(3):409–415. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1972.tb08138.x

The effect of sodium γ-hydroxybutyrate on the metabolism of dopamine in the brain

D A Hutchins, K S Rayevsky, D F Sharman
PMCID: PMC1666526  PMID: 4656604

Abstract

1. Sodium gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB-Na), when given to rats and mice, caused a sleep-like state and a fall in body temperature of about 10° C.

2. GHB-Na produced a dose-dependent increase in the concentration of dopamine (DA) in the brains of mice kept at an environmental temperature of 18-20° C or 30-32° C.

3. The concentrations of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic acid (HVA), the metabolites of DA, were increased in the striatal tissues of rats and mice, after the administration of GHB-Na. However there was a delay of 60 min before the concentration of HVA increased whereas there appeared to be little delay before the concentration of DOPAC increased.

4. When GHB-Na was administered to reserpine-treated animals, no increase occurred in the concentration of dopamine in the brains of mice or rats, or of DOPAC in the rat brain.

5. Reserpine did not prevent the induction of the sleep-like state by GHB-Na.

6. The results presented suggest that the effect of GHB-Na in increasing the concentration of DA requires unimpaired storage mechanisms for the amine.

Full text

PDF
409

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BESSMAN S. P., FISHBEIN W. N. GAMMA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE, A NORMAL BRAIN METABOLITE. Nature. 1963 Dec 21;200:1207–1208. doi: 10.1038/2001207a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. GIARMAN N. J., SCHMIDT K. F. Some neurochemical aspects of the depressant action of gamma-butyrolactone on the central nervous system. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1963 Jun;20:563–568. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1963.tb01493.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gessa G. L., Crabai F., Yargiu L., Spano P. F. Selective increase of brain dopamine induced by gamma-hydroxybutyrate: study of the mechanism of action. J Neurochem. 1968 May;15(5):377–381. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1968.tb11624.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Guldberg H. C., Broch O. J., Jr On the mode of action of reserpine on dopamine metabolism in the rat striatum. Eur J Pharmacol. 1971 Jan;13(2):155–167. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(71)90146-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. LAVERTY R., SHARMAN D. F. THE ESTIMATION OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF 3,4-DIHYDROXYPHENYLETHYLAMINE IN TISSUES. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1965 Apr;24:538–548. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1965.tb01744.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Murphy G. F., Robinson D., Sharman D. F. The effect of tropolone on the formation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic acid in the brain of the mouse. Br J Pharmacol. 1969 May;36(1):107–115. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1969.tb08308.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Roffler-Tarlov S., Sharman D. F., Tegerdine P. 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic acid in the mouse striatum: a reflection of intra- and extra-neuronal metabolism of dopamine? Br J Pharmacol. 1971 Jul;42(3):343–351. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1971.tb07118.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Roth R. H. Effect of anesthetic doses of hydroxybutyrate on subcortical concentrations of homovanillic acid. Eur J Pharmacol. 1971 Jun;15(1):52–59. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(71)90078-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Roth R. H. Formation and regional distribution of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in mammalian brain. Biochem Pharmacol. 1970 Dec;19(12):3013–3019. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(70)90087-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Roth R. H., Giarman N. J. Evidence that central nervous system depression by 1,4-butanediol in mediated through a metabolite, gamma-hydroxybutyrate. Biochem Pharmacol. 1968 May;17(5):735–739. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(68)90010-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Roth R. H., Suhr Y. Mechanism of the gamma-hydroxybutyrate-induced increase in brain dopamine and its relationship to "sleep". Biochem Pharmacol. 1970 Dec;19(12):3001–3012. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(70)90086-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Sharman D. F. Changes in the metabolism of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethylamine (dopamine) in the striatum of the mouse induced by drugs. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1966 Nov;28(2):153–163. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1966.tb01881.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Spano P. F., Tagliamonte A., Tagliamonte P., Gessa G. L. Stimulation of brain dopamine synthesis by gamma-hydroxybutyrate. J Neurochem. 1971 Oct;18(10):1831–1836. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1971.tb09588.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES