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Increasing Dopaminergic Activity: Effects of L-Dopa and Bromocriptine on Human Sensory Gating
- Source :
- Journal of Psychopharmacology. 18:388-394
- Publication Year :
- 2004
- Publisher :
- SAGE Publications, 2004.
-
Abstract
- Schizophrenic patients show a loss of sensory gating, which is reflected in a reduced P50 suppression. Because most of the symptoms inschizophrenia can be reduced by antagonists of the dopaminergic (D2) system, the loss in sensory gating might be related to an increased dopaminergic activity. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of increased dopaminergic neurotransmisson on sensory gating in healthy volunteers were investigated. In a double-blind, balanced, placebo-controlled design, healthy male volunteers were challenged in twoseparate studies with either 300 mg L-dopa (precursor of dopamine) or placebo ( n = 16) and 1.25 mg bromocriptine (D2 agonist) or placebo ( n = 17). Subsequently, they were tested for their sensory gating (P50 suppression). P50 suppression values in the placebo condition werecomparable to those found in literature. Although both L-dopa and bromocriptine reduced P50 amplitude, they did so in an equal ratio for both the response to the conditioning (C) and the testing (T) stimuli, therefore not resulting in a reduction of the P50 suppression ratio (T/C). In the present study, neither L-dopa nor bromocriptine reduced sensory gating in healthy volunteers. This suggests that an increased dopaminergic activity in humans is not responsible for the reduction in sensory gating as seen, for example, in schizophrenia.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Agonist
medicine.medical_specialty
Levodopa
Time Factors
medicine.drug_class
Dopamine Agents
Gating
Pharmacology
Dopamine agonist
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Double-Blind Method
Dopamine
Internal medicine
medicine
Humans
Pharmacology (medical)
Bromocriptine
Cross-Over Studies
Sensory gating
Dopaminergic
Brain
Electroencephalography
Homovanillic Acid
Prolactin
030227 psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
medicine.anatomical_structure
Endocrinology
Acoustic Stimulation
Dopamine Agonists
Evoked Potentials, Auditory
Sensory Deprivation
Psychology
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14617285 and 02698811
- Volume :
- 18
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....cd7ecf6e817f839bb4f7a6c76dd141cb