Received: 7 April, 2009 Accepted: 17 June, 2009

Abstract

Background & Aims: Antidepressants are very common therapeutic agents in medicine. Design and using new antidepressants have built a new scope for depression treatment. Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant but it is used as an anti-smoke agent widely due to its smoke cessation. Its effectiveness in producing smoking cessation seems independent of its antidepressant effects. The study of synaptic effects of bupropion can reveal its mechanism for nicotine dependence cessation. This study has tested the effects of bupropion on evoked responses of rat hippocampal slices.

Materials & Methods: 16 hippocampal slices from 18-25 old age rat pops were tested. The hippocampal slices have been prepared according to standard techniques. Bupropion was perfused in ACSF (2 mmol) for 30 minutes. The amplitude of population spikes (PS) amplitude of Stratum Radiatum was measured before and after bupropion perfusion. Amplitude of PS before bupropion perfusion fitted as 100% for baseline.

Results:   Bupropion (2 mmol) abolished PS of all slices for different periods. PS disappeared in 37.5% of slices for 1 hour, 25% for 1.5 hour, 12.5 % for 2 hour, and 25% for 4 hour or more. Bupropion disappeared PS 5-15 minutes after perfusion.

Conclusion: Bupropion abolished or decreased PS amplitude. The results have showed that bupropion can decreases LTP or synaptic plasticity and alters the synaptic behavior in drug dependence. 

Keywords: Bupropion, Hippocampal slice, Population spike, Rat

Address: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Nazlou Road, Nazlou Academic Campus, Urmia, Iran  P.O.Box 1138      Tel: (+98 441) 2240643

E-mail: fgpakdell@umsu.ac.ir

Source: UMJ 2009: 20(3): 236 ISSN: 1027-3727