Alterations in the Biochemical Properties of Central Dopamine Synapses following Chronic Postnatal PbCO3 Exposure1

Wince, Leon C., Carol A. Donovan and Albert J. Azzaro: Alterations in the biochemical properties of central dopamine synapses following chronic postnatal PbCO3 exposure. J. Phar-macol. Exp. Ther. 214: 642-650, 1980. Behavioral studies on spontaneous and stimulant-induced lo-comotor activity after chronic low-level lead (Pb) exposure prompted us to investigate the pre- and postjunctional bio-chemical properties at central dopamine (DA) synapses. Rat pups were chronically exposed from birth to 40 ppm of Pb and tested behaviorally and biochemically at 25 to 35 days of age. Pb-exposed rat pups demonstrated locomotor hyperactivity, but the locomotor response to d-amphetamine SO4 (0.5-2.0 mg/kg) or apomorphine HCI (0.5-5.0 mg/kg) was attenuated. Correlative biochemical studies in rat brain tissue demonstrate