The effect of gamma-acetylenic GABA, an enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of GABA-transaminase, on dopamine pathways of the extrapyramidal and limbic systems

gamma-Acetylenic GABA (100 mg/kg i.p.) inhibited GABA-transaminase activity and caused a several-fold increase in the concentration of GABA in rat brain. This increased GABA concentration was associated with a decreased rate of dopamine depletion following alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine treatment and a decrease in homovanillic acid in extrapyramidal and limbic structures suggesting a decrease in dopamine turnover in both pathways. In addition, gamma-acetylenic GABA injected into the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum decreased dopamine turnover in the mesolimbic forebrain. These results are consistent with a modulatory function of GABAergic neurons on extrapyramidal and limbic dopamine pathways. Inhibitory effects on dopaminergic functions of the extrapyramidal and limbic systems were also indicated by the amphetamine and apomorphine-induced ipsilateral turning after unilateral substantia nigral injections of gamma-acetylenic GABA and by the attenuation of dopamine-induced hypermotility after bilateral injections of gamma-acetylenic GABA into the nucleus accumbens.