Effects of methamphetamine on regional cerebral glucose utilization in rats with unilateral lesion of substantia nigra.

In rats with electrocoagulation of the unilateral substantia nigra (SN), methamphetamine at doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/kg, i.p., induced ipsilateral turning towards the lesioned side and caused an imbalance of the regional cerebral glucose utilization (CGU) in the caudate-putamen (CP), frontal cortex (FC) and ventromedial thalamic nucleus (VMT); i.e., showing a higher contralateral CGU as compared with the SN lesioned side. These results induced in unilateral SN-lesioned rats may be accompanied by an imbalance of neural activity in CP, FC and VMT of these rats.