Electrochemical monitoring of brain ascorbic acid changes associated with hypoxia, spreading depression, and seizure activity

Implantable (Bio)sensors as new tools for wireless monitoring of brain neurochemistry in real time

Implantable electrochemical microsensors are characterized by high sensitivity, while amperometric biosensors are very selective in virtue of the biological detecting element. Each sensor, specific for every neurochemical species, is a miniaturized high-technology device resulting from the combination of several factors: electrode material, shielding polymers, applied electrochemical technique, and in the case of biosensors, biological sensing material, stabilizers, and entrapping chemical nets. In this paper, we summarize the available technology for the in vivo electrochemical monitoring of neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine, and glutamate), bioenergetic substrates (glucose, lactate, and oxygen), neuromodulators (ascorbic acid and nitric oxide), and exogenous molecules such as ethanol. We also describe the most represented biotelemetric technologies in order to wirelessly transmit the signals of the above-listed neurochemicals. Implantable (Bio)sensors, integrated into miniaturized telemetry systems, represent a new generation of analytical tools that could be used for studying the brain’s physiology and pathophysiology and the effects of different drugs (or toxic chemicals such as ethanol) on neurochemical systems.

Lipoic acid alters delta-aminolevulinic dehydratase, glutathione peroxidase and Na+,K+-ATPase activities and glutathione-reduced levels in rat hippocampus after pilocarpine-induced seizures

In the present study, we investigated the effects of lipoic acid (LA) in the brain oxidative stress caused by pilocarpine-induced seizures in adult rats. Wistar rats were treated with 0.9% saline (i.p., control group), lipoic acid (10 mg/kg, i.p., LA group), pilocarpine (400 mg/kg, i.p., pilocarpine group), and the association of LA (10 mg/kg, i.p.) plus pilocarpine (400 mg/kg, i.p.), 30 min before the administration of LA (LA plus pilocarpine group). After the treatments, all groups were observed for 1 h. The enzyme activities [delta-aminolevulinic dehydratase (delta-ALA-D), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and Na+,K+-ATPase] as well as the glutathione-reduced (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AA) concentrations were measured using spectrophotometric methods, and the results were compared to values obtained from saline and pilocarpine-treated animals. Protective effects of LA were also evaluated on the same parameters. In pilocarpine group, no changes were observed in GPx and GR activities and AA content. Moreover, in the same group, decrease in GSH levels as well as a reduction in delta-ALA-D and Na+,K+-ATPase activities after seizures was observed. In turn, in LA plus pilocarpine group, the appearance of seizures was abolished, and the decreases in delta-ALA-D and Na+,K+-ATPase activities produced by seizures as well as increases in GSH levels and GPx activity were reversed, when compared to the pilocarpine seizing group. The results of the present study demonstrated that preadministration of LA abolished seizure episodes induced by pilocarpine in rat, probably by reducing oxidative stress in rat hippocampus caused by seizures.

Real-time monitoring of L-glutamate release from mouse brain slices under ischemia with a glass capillary-based enzyme electrode

Real-time monitoring of L-glutamate release from various neuronal regions of mouse hippocampal slices under ischemia (a glucose-free hypoxia condition) is described. A glass capillary microelectrode with a tip size of approximately 10 microm containing a very small volume ( approximately 2 microL) of a solution of glutamate oxidase (GluOx) and ascorbate oxidase was used. First, the amperometric response behavior of the electrode at 0 V versus Ag/AgCl was characterized with a standard glutamate solution in terms of continuous measurements, effect of oxygen, viscosity of solution and concentration dependence. The electrode was applied to the real-time monitoring of L-glutamate released from different neuronal regions of acute hippocampal slices submerged in a hypoxia solution. The time-resolved amounts of L-glutamate released at various neuronal regions (CA1, CA3 and DG) of mouse hippocampal slices were quantified and compared with the reported L-glutamate fluxes using difference-image analysis during ischemia.

Modulation of Aspartate Release by Ascorbic Acid and Endobain E, an Endogenous Na+, K+-ATPase Inhibitor

The isolation of a soluble brain fraction which behaves as an endogenous ouabain-like substance, termed endobain E, has been described. Endobain E contains two Na+, K+ -ATPase inhibitors, one of them identical to ascorbic acid. Neurotransmitter release in the presence of endobain E and ascorbic acid was studied in non-depolarizing (0 mM KCl) and depolarizing (40 mM KCl) conditions. Synaptosomes were isolated from cerebral cortex of male Wistar rats by differential centrifugation and Percoll gradient. Synaptosomes were preincubated in HEPES-saline buffer with 1 mM D-[3H]aspartate (15 min at 37 degrees C), centrifuged, washed, incubated in the presence of additions (60 s at 37 degrees C) and spun down; radioactivity in the supernatants was quantified. In the presence of 0.5-5.0 mM ascorbic acid, D-[3H]aspartate release was roughly 135-215% or 110-150%, with or without 40 mM KCI, respectively. The endogenous Na+, K+ -ATPase inhibitor endobain E dose-dependently increased neurotransmitter release, with values even higher in the presence of KCl, reaching 11-times control values. In the absence of KCl, addition of 0.5-10.0 mM commercial ouabain enhanced roughly 100% D-[3H]aspartate release; with 40 mM KCl a trend to increase was recorded with the lowest ouabain concentrations to achieve statistically significant difference vs. KCl above 4 mM ouabain. Experiments were performed in the presence of glutamate receptor antagonists. It was observed that MPEP (selective for mGluR5 subtype), failed to decrease endobain E response but reduced 50-60% ouabain effect; LY-367385 (selective for mGluR1 subtype) and dizocilpine (for ionotropic NMDA glutamate receptor) did not reduce endobain E or ouabain effects. These findings lead to suggest that endobain E effect on release is independent of metabotropic or ionotropic glutamate receptors, whereas that of ouabain involves mGluR5 but not mGluR1 receptor subtype. Assays performed at different temperatures indicated that in endobain E effect both exocytosis and transporter reversion are involved. It is concluded that endobain E and ascorbic acid, one of its components, due to their ability to inhibit Na+, K+ -ATPase, may well modulate neurotransmitter release at synapses.

Acetylcholine and choline amperometric enzyme sensors characterized in vitro and in vivo

Acetylcholine (ACh) and choline (Ch) are important neuroactive molecules, yet detection of these substances in vivo presents significant analytical challenges. New multienzyme amperometric biosensors are presented here with measurement of physiologically relevant levels of ACh and Ch in vivo. Poly(m-(1,3)-phenylenediamine) (pmPD) electropolymerized on a platinum iridium wire (Pt) served as a template for immobilization of enzymes. A multienzyme layer containing choline oxidase (ChOx) and ascorbic acid oxidase (AAO) for a Ch sensor or ChOx, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and AAO for a ACh/Ch sensor was immobilized with bovine serum albumin by cross-linking with glutaraldeyhyde. The pmPD enzyme sensors displayed enhanced sensitivity, stability, and selectivity compared to the same multienzyme systems immobilized to solvent cast Nafion and cellulose acetate-modified Pt. Sensor response was linear up to 100 microM ACh or Ch. Detection limits were 0.66 +/- 0.46 microM ACh and 0.33 +/- 0.09 microM Ch, and response times were <1 s. Selectivity for Ch and ACh relative to potential interferences and pharmacological agents commonly used to examine cholinergic physiology was demonstrated. Temperature and pH dependence and the effect of storage conditions on sensor sensitivity and selectivity were determined. Exogenous and endogenous Ch and ACh were measured in the rat brain in vivo.

A glass capillary microelectrode based on capillarity and its application to the detection of L-glutamate release from mouse brain slices

A new glass capillary microelectrode for L-glutamate is described using pulled glass capillaries (tip size, approximately 12.5 microm) with a very small volume (approximately 2 microl) of inner solution containing glutamate oxidase (GluOx) and ascorbate oxidase. The operation of the electrode is based on capillary action that samples L-glutamate into the inner solution. The enzyme reaction by GluOx generates hydrogen peroxide that is detected at an Os-gel-HRP polymer modified Pt electrode in a three-electrode configuration. The amperometric response behavior of the electrode was characterized in terms of the capillarity, response time, sensitivity and selectivity for measurements of L-glutamate. The currents at 0 V vs. Ag/AgCl increased linearly with the L-glutamate concentration from 10 to 150 microM for in vitro and in situ calibrations. The response was highly selective to L-glutamate over ascorbate, dopamine, serotonin and other amino acids. The detection of L-glutamate in the extracellular fluids of different regions of mouse hippocampal slices under stimulation of KCl was demonstrated.

Increased extracellular ascorbate release reflects glutamate re-uptake during the early stage of reperfusion after forebrain ischemia in rats

Ascorbate is highly concentrated in neuropils, and its extracellular release is closely related to that of the excitatory neurotransmitters. Thus, the extracellular release of ascorbate and glutamate was measured during the early stage of forebrain ischemia-reperfusion in the rat hippocampus using a microdialysis biosensor system. Male Wistar rats were anesthetized with halothane under mechanical ventilation and normothermia. Two probes of the microdialysis biosensor electrode were inserted in the hippocampus bilaterally. One probe was perfused with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and the oxidation signal of dialyzed ascorbate was recorded. A second electropolymerized probe was perfused with PBS containing glutamate oxidase for glutamate measurement. Forebrain ischemia-reperfusion was performed by bilateral carotid artery occlusion with hemorrhagic hypotension (MAP=30 mmHg) for 10 min (Group 10, n=10) or 15 min (Group 15, n=10), followed by reperfusion for 60 min. The release of glutamate increased significantly to 294% (Group 10) and 334% (Group 15) during ischemia, and then decreased rapidly. In Group 15, however, it remained significantly higher after reperfusion than in Group 10. The release of ascorbate increased significantly to 504% (Group 10) and 334% (Group 15) after reperfusion. In Group 10, it was significantly higher for 5-15 min after reperfusion than in Group 15. The marked increase of ascorbate during reperfusion was associated with the rapid decrease in glutamate. The extended time of ischemia significantly inhibited glutamate re-uptake and ascorbate release during reperfusion. These findings suggest the extracellular ascorbate release during reperfusion after global ischemia as a marker of glutamate re-uptake.

Ethanol potentiates dopamine release during acute hypoxia in rat striatum

We, and others, have previously demonstrated that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is involved in hypoxia or ischemia-mediated responses. We found that the NMDA antagonist ketamine attenuates cortical nitric oxide release during cerebroischemia. It has been reported that ethanol (EtOH) antagonizes NMDA-induced responses in various systems. In the present study, the interaction of EtOH and KCl-evoked striatal dopamine release in vivo during acute hypoxia was examined. High-speed chronoamperometric recording techniques, using Nafion-coated carbon fiber electrodes, were used to evaluate extracellular dopamine (DA) concentration in the striatum of urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. KCl was directly applied to the striatum to evoke release of DA. These anesthetized animals were paralyzed with d-tubocurarine and connected to a respirator to allow controlled respiration. Systemic concentrations of oxygen were altered by changing the rate of the respirator. We previously reported that lowering the respiratory rates from 90 to 20 times/min for 5 min decreased arterial PO(2) and facilitated KCl-induced DA release in the striatum. In this study, we found that application of NMDA antagonist MK801 attenuates hypoxic DA release, suggesting that NMDA receptor is involved in this hypoxic reaction. In contrast, EtOH dose dependently enhanced KCl-evoked DA release during hypoxia. To further examine the interactions of excitatory amino acid and EtOH on DA release, glutamate was locally applied to the striatum. Glutamate-induced DA release was not affected by the systemic application of EtOH. Taken together, these data suggest that EtOH enhances DA release in vivo during short-term hypoxia, possibly through mechanisms other than excitatory amino acid pathways.

Glutamate stimulates ascorbate transport by astrocytes

The concentrations of glutamate and ascorbate in brain extracellular fluid increase following seizure activity, trauma and ischemia. Extracellular ascorbate concentration also rises following intracerebral glutamate injection. We hypothesized that glutamate triggers the release of ascorbate from astrocytes. We observed in primary cultures of rat cerebral astrocytes that glutamate increased ascorbate efflux significantly within 30 min. The half-maximal effective concentration of glutamate was 180+/-30 microM. Glutamate-stimulated efflux of ascorbate was attenuated by hypertonic media. 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid inhibited both Na(+)-dependent glutamate uptake and ascorbate efflux. Two other inhibitors of volume-sensitive organic anion channels (1, 9-dideoxyforskolin and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid) did not slow glutamate uptake but prevented stimulation of ascorbate efflux. Glutamate also stimulated the uptake of ascorbate by ascorbate-depleted astrocytes. In contrast, glutamate uptake was not affected by intracellular ascorbate, thus ruling out a putative glutamate-ascorbate heteroexchange mechanism. These results are consistent with activation by glutamate of ascorbate-permeant channels in astrocytes.

Monitoring glutamate and ascorbate in the extracellular space of brain tissue with electrochemical microsensors

This paper describes electrochemical microsensors for the in vivo measurement of glutamate and ascorbate in the extracellular space of brain tissue. To prepare glutamate microsensors, carbon fiber microelectrodes (10 microns in diameter and 300-400 microns long) were modified with a cross-linked redox polymer film containing enzymes. The microsensors were coated with a thin Nafion film before use. The glutamate microsensors were both selective and sensitive toward glutamate, with detection limits in the low micromolar range. Physiologically relevant concentrations of several electroactive compounds found in brain tissue produced no response at the glutamate microsensors and also did not affect their glutamate response, the only exception being glutamine, for which a small response was observed in the absence, but not in the presence, of glutamate. The ascorbate microsensors were used in conjunction with cyclic voltammetry. They were sensitive and selective toward ascorbate, but did exhibit a small sensitivity toward the dopamine metabolite, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. The in vivo measurements performed establish the ability of the glutamate microsensors to monitor the component of the basal extracellular glutamate level that is derived from the neuronal activity of brain tissue.

Interaction between sodium ascorbate and dopamine

The interaction between sodium ascorbate and dopamine was investigated by three different parameters: radical intensity, prooxidant action, and cytotoxicity induction. Sodium ascorbate and dopamine produced the doublet and quartet ESR signals under alkaline conditions (pH 8.0-9.5), respectively. Addition of increasing concentrations of sodium ascorbate completely scavenged the dopamine radical and replaced the latter with its own radical. Similarly, dopamine slightly, but significantly reduced the radical intensity of sodium ascorbate. These two compounds stimulated the methionine oxidation and hydrogen peroxide generation in culture medium, but in combination, their stimulation activities were weakened. Both of these two compounds dose-dependently reduced the viable cell number of human oral squamous carcinoma HSC-4 cells, and their cytotoxic activity was significantly reduced by catalase. When these two compounds were mixed together before adding to HSC-4 cells, both of their cytotoxic activities were diminished. The present study demonstrates the interaction between sodium ascorbate and dopamine, which might modify their biological activities and generation of nerve disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

Ascorbate availability and neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in which upper and lower motoneurons progressively deteriorate and die. Neuronal damage is most evident in the lower central nervous system, and death generally occurs following central respiratory failure. Proposed and demonstrated mechanisms for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are diverse, and include altered superoxide dismutase and neurofilament proteins, autoimmune attack, and hyperglutamatergic activity. However, they do not account for the late onset of the disease, its earlier onset in males, and the differential vulnerability of neurons located in the brainstem and spinal cord. It is proposed here that, within the context of a specific defect such as altered superoxide dismutase, age-dependent decline in ascorbate availability triggers the disease. A role for ascorbate, which is found in millimolar levels in neurons, is suggested by a number of consistencies: 1) superoxide radicals being a common substrate for superoxide dismutase and ascorbate; 2) a close association between central nervous system ascorbate levels and injury tolerance; 3) a steady decline in ascorbate plasma levels and cellular availability with age; 4) plasma ascorbate levels being lower in males; 5) an association of ascorbate release with motor activity in central nervous system regions, in vivo; 6) the coupling of brain-cell ascorbate release with glutamate uptake; 7) possible roles for ascorbate modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activity; 9) the ability of ascorbate to prevent peroxynitrite anion formation; and 10) evidence supporting the scorbutic guinea pig as a model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Emphasis is placed on the probable competition between superoxide dismutase and ascorbate within the context of a primary defect of metal-binding or metal access in high-concentration proteins such as superoxide dismutase and human heavy neurofilaments. Finally, distinct features of alpha-motoneuronal physiology suggest that cell physiological characteristics such as high metabolic activity and extensive calcium dynamics may render neurons differentially vulnerable in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Ketamine antagonizes nitric oxide release from cerebral cortex after middle cerebral artery ligation in rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Ischemia or hypoxia activates N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and results in nitric oxide (NO) production. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an NMDA channel blocker can inhibit NO production during ischemia.

METHODS

Temporary cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery ligation while common carotid arteries were clamped bilaterally for 40 minutes in urethane-anesthetized rats. Extracellular NO concentration in the cortex was recorded through Nafion- and porphyrine-coated carbon fiber electrodes. Ketamine, and NMDA channel blocker, was administered (50 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 15 minutes before the cerebral artery ligation.

RESULTS

During middle cerebral artery ligation, cortical NO was increased to its peak (18.76+/-3.36 nmol/L) in 7 minutes and then declined. The overflow of NO can be antagonized by pretreatment with ketamine, dizocilpine maleate (MK801), or N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Local application of nitroprusside also induced NO production. However, this effect was not antagonized by ketamine.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated that NO release induced by short-term cerebral ischemia can be attenuated by pretreatment with NMDA antagonists.

On the significance of brain extracellular uric acid detected with in-vivo monitoring techniques: a review

The concentration of uric acid [UA] in the extracellular fluid (ECF) estimated with in-vivo voltammetry and microdialysis data is compared for probes of different diameters from the day of implantation (acute) to several days (chronic) or even months after surgery. For small probes (diameter < 160 microns) the acute [UA] of ca. 5 microM decreased significantly to ca. 1 microM under chronic conditions. For larger probes (e.g., 320-microns diameter) the acute [UA] was also ca. 5 microM, but this value significantly increased to ca. 50 microM under chronic conditions. Associated with this difference in [UA], there were parallel differences in the extent of gliosis around the probes. These findings are discussed in terms of possible sources of extracellular UA and their implications for in-vivo monitoring techniques in behaving animals.

Ascorbate potentiates amphetamine-induced conditioned place preference and forebrain dopamine release in rats

In order to evaluate the effects of ascorbate, which is known to modulate dopamine neurotransmission, on the reinforcing effects of amphetamine, we coadministered ascorbate and amphetamine during the acquisition of conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Our results indicate that 100 mg/kg ascorbate potentiates the CPP induced by 0.5 mg/kg, but not 1.0 mg/kg, amphetamine. A higher dose of ascorbate (500 mg/kg) did not influence the CPP induced by either dose of amphetamine. In vitro release assays revealed that, whereas ascorbate alone (0.01-1.0 mM) did not influence striatal dopamine levels, this vitamin potentiated amphetamine-induced dopamine release in both the nucleus accumbens and neostriatum. Collectively, these results raise the possibility that ascorbate potentiates amphetamine-induced CPP by increasing the ability of this psychostimulant to release dopamine.

Iontophoresis in the neostriatum of awake, unrestrained rats: differential effects of dopamine, glutamate and ascorbate on motor- and nonmotor-related neurons

The neostriatum and its major afferent transmitters, dopamine and glutamate, play a critical role in behavior, but relatively little information is available on their postsynaptic effects in behaving animals. As a first step in addressing this shortcoming, single-unit electrophysiology was combined with iontophoresis in the neostriatum of awake, unrestrained rats. Relative to periods of quiet rest, most neurons (58 of 77) changed discharge rate in close temporal association with movement, while the remainder showed no such relationship. When animals resumed a resting posture, iontophoretic current-response curves were established for dopamine and glutamate as well as for ascorbate, a modulator of neostriatal function released from glutamatergic terminals. Application of either glutamate or ascorbate produced current-dependent increases in activity in all neurons, although this effect was somewhat less pronounced for nonmotor cells. In both types of neurons, the excitatory effect of ascorbate either diminished or shifted to an inhibition at high ejection currents. Dopamine, on the other hand, routinely excited motor-related, but inhibited nonmotor-related neurons. Further assessment of motor-related neurons revealed that in most cases the excitatory effects of either glutamate or dopamine alone were supra-additive when these compounds were either administered together or co-administered with ascorbate. Our results suggest that the response of neostriatal neurons to glutamate or dopamine depends, at least in part, on the motor responsiveness of these cells. Motor-related neurons, moreover, respond to the co-administration of glutamate and dopamine with synergistic increases in firing rate. Ascorbate also influences neostriatal activity, but the postsynaptic action of this substance cannot be explained as a simple interaction with either glutamatergic or dopaminergic mechanisms.

The role of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the regulation of physiologically released dopamine

In vivo voltammetry was used to measure changes in ascorbate, which are an index of changes in the release of glutamate, and microdialysis was used to measure changes in dopamine in the striatum of freely moving rats. A 5 min tail pinch produced a rapid rise in striatal ascorbate paralleled by an increase in motor activity and a slower, more prolonged rise in dopamine. Systemic administration of ketamine or dizocilpine maleate, non-competitive antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor, produced an increase in the basal level of ascorbate but not dopamine; however, the tail pinch-evoked rise in both ascorbate and dopamine was completely abolished by these drugs. The rise in dopamine was also abolished by local infusion of dizocilpine maleate into the striatum. Local application of N-methyl-D-aspartate produced a dose-dependent increase in dopamine, which was partially reduced in the presence of tetrodotoxin. The results show that the tail pinch-evoked increase in motor activity involves an increase in the release of striatal dopamine which requires the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the striatum. This suggests that phasic increases in striatal dopamine release are triggered by the action of glutamate on dopaminergic nerve terminals.

The physiologically induced release of ascorbate in rat brain is dependent on impulse traffic, calcium influx and glutamate uptake

Extracellular brain ascorbate fluctuates with neuronal activity. There is previous evidence that the release of ascorbate is triggered by the re-uptake of neuronally released glutamate. This hypothesis predicts that drugs which block the release and re-uptake of glutamate will also block the release of ascorbate. In the present experiments we have used a novel dialysis electrode which allows continuous monitoring of physiologically induced ascorbate release from the striatum in freely moving rats. An infusion of the enzyme ascorbic acid oxidase abolished the increase in oxidation current in response to tail-pinch, which identified it as an ascorbate current. Perfusion with tetrodotoxin reduced the response to 25% and with CdCl2 to 4% of control. Perfusion with the uptake blocker L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-di-carboxylate reduced the response to 24% of control. A neuroprotective function for this coupling of ascorbate and glutamate release is discussed.

A vitamin as neuromodulator: ascorbate release into the extracellular fluid of the brain regulates dopaminergic and glutamatergic transmission

Ascorbate is an antioxidant vitamin that the brain accumulates from the blood supply and maintains at a relatively high concentration under widely varying conditions. Although neurons are known to use this vitamin in many different chemical and enzymatic reactions, only recently has sufficient evidence emerged to suggest a role for ascorbate in interneuronal communication. Ascorbate is released from glutamatergic neurons as part of the glutamate reuptake process, in which the high-affinity glutamate transporter exchanges ascorbate for glutamate. This heteroexchange process, which also may occur in glial cells, ensures a relatively high level of extracellular ascorbate in many forebrain regions. Ascorbate release is regulated, at least in part, by dopaminergic mechanisms, which appear to involve both the D1 and D2 family of dopamine receptors. Thus, amphetamine, GBR-12909, apomorphine, and the combined administration of D1 and D2 agonists all facilitate ascorbate release from glutamatergic terminals in the neostriatum, and this effect is blocked by dopamine receptor antagonists. Even though the neostriatum itself contains a high concentration of dopamine receptors, the critical site for dopamine-mediated ascorbate release in the neostriatum is the substantia nigra. Intranigral dopamine regulates the activity of nigrothalamic efferents, which in turn regulate thalamocortical fibers and eventually the glutamatergic corticoneostriatal pathway. In addition, neostriatonigral fibers project to nigrothalamic efferents, completing a complex multisynaptic loop that plays a major role in neostriatal ascorbate release. Although extracellular ascorbate appears to modulate the synaptic action of dopamine, the mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. Evidence from receptor binding studies suggests that ascorbate alters dopamine receptors either as an allosteric inhibitor or as an inducer of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. The applicability of these studies to dopamine receptor function, however, remains to be established in view of reports that ascorbate can protect against lipid peroxidation in vivo. Nevertheless, ample behavioral evidence supports an antidopaminergic action of ascorbate. Systemic, intraventricular, or intraneostriatal ascorbate administration, for example, attenuates the behavioral effects of amphetamine and potentiates the behavioral response to haloperidol. Some of these behavioral effects, however, may be dose-dependent in that treatment with relatively low doses of ascorbate has been reported to enhance dopamine-mediated behaviors. Ascorbate also appears to modulate glutamatergic transmission in the neostriatum. In fact, by facilitating glutamate release, ascorbate may indirectly oppose the action of dopamine, though the nature of the neostriatal dopaminergic-glutamatergic interaction is far from settled. Ascorbate also may alter the redox state of the NMDA glutamate receptor thus block NMDA-gated channel function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)