J. Neuroscience Methods. A novel technique allowing measurement of neurotransmitter release and single unit recordings from brain slices is described. The effects of MDMA on slices of dorsal raphe nucleus and frontal cortex were used to demonstrate it. Both MDA and MDMA were shown to form complexes with cytochrome P-450 that were inhibitory to its function as to demethylation of benzphetamine and carbon monoxide binding. The MDMA contractions were blocked by atropine, and do not appear to involve serotonin receptors.
Evidence is presented from binding to rat brain homogenate studies.
The use of the serotoninergic re-uptake inhibitor, active in vivo ,does not antagonize this binding, nor in studies with uptake into striatal microsomes. April 13-18, 1986. The release of tritiated serotonin and dopamine from superfused rat striatal slices was observed for three amphetamine derivatives. This last compound was, however, some 10x more effective than MDMA in the release of dopamine. Affinities for the 5-HT1 site were similar, but that for D2 sites were very low.