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Abstract
In this study, we investigated the effects of acute caffeine administration on the
activity of midbrain dopamine neurons. Caffeine significantly depressed the firing
rates of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (A10 group), but had no significant
effect on the firing rates of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra zona compacta
(A9 group). The action of caffeine in A10 was completely blocked by pretreatment with
the adenosine agonist l-phenyl-isopropyl-adenosine (L-PIA), confirming numerous lines of evidence that caffeine
and other xanthines act as competitive antagonists at adenosine receptors. The dopamine
antagonist haloperidol also antagonized the effects of caffeine. This finding is consistent
with a mechanism of caffeine-induced depression of dopamine neuron activity involving
dopamine release, similar to that observed during amphetamine administration. Finally,
the benzodiazepine diazepam also antagonized the dopaminergic effects of caffeine.
It appears that, in the rat, caffeine administration inhibits mesolimbic and mesocortical
projecting dopamine neurons, but has no effect on dopamine neurons that project to
the striatum.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
August 28,
1987
Received:
June 8,
1987
Identification
Copyright
© 1988 Published by Elsevier Inc.
