Effects of morphine on metabolism of dopamine and serotonin in brains of alcohol-preferring AA and alcohol-avoiding ANA rats

Morphine induces a larger locomotor stimulation in the alcohol-preferring AA rats than in the alcohol-avoiding ANA rats. We have now studied the acute effects of morphine (1 and 3 mg/kg) on metabolism of dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) in the dorsal and ventral striatum of the AA and ANA rats. The basal level of dopamine release, as reflected by the concentration of dopamine metabolite 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT), was lower in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens of the AA rats than in the ANA rats. In the caudate-putamen, morphine increased dopamine metabolism and release more in the AA than in the ANA rats. In the nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, the effects of morphine on dopamine metabolism and release did not differ between the rat lines. Morphine elevated the metabolism of 5-HT in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens of the AA but not in those of the ANA rats. The results suggest that the larger morphine-induced psychomotor stimulation of the AA rats in comparison with the ANA rats is associated with the larger effect of morphine on dopamine metabolism in the caudate-putamen and 5-HT metabolism in the caudate-putamen and nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, low basal dopamine release may play a role in the high alcohol-preference of AA rats. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.