Morphine-dopamine interaction: ventral tegmental morphine increases nucleus accumbens dopamine release

P Leone, D Pocock, RA Wise - Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 1991 - Elsevier
Microdialysis and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection
were used to determine extracellular levels of dopamine following ventral tegmental
morphine injections into chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. Morphine (13.2 nanomoles in 0.5
μl of Ringer's solution) caused 50–150% increases in nucleus accumbens dopamine and
metabolites; latency for the effect was on the order of 15 min with peak effects occurring in
30–50 min. Contralateral dopamine levels were influenced only minimally. These data …