Enhancement by flumazenil of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of rats repeatedly exposed to diazepam or imidazenil

The effect of long-term treatment (three times daily for 3 weeks) with a behaviorally relevant dose of the benzodiazepine receptor partial agonist imidazenil (0.5 mg/kg, IP) on basal dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats was compared with that of diazepam (3 mg/kg, IP), a benzodiazepine receptor full agonist. Challenge doses of imidazenil and diazepam decreased the extracellular dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens by approximately the same extent in animals repeatedly exposed to vehicle or to the respective drug. Moreover, the abrupt discontinuation of long-term treatment with diazepam or imidazenil failed to affect basal dopamine release in this brain area during the first 5 days of withdrawal. In contrast, administration of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil (4 mg/kg, IP) elicited a marked increase (95 or 60%) in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens 6 h after withdrawal of diazepam or imidazenil, respectively. Flumazenil induced a similar but smaller effect (50% increase) 5 days after diazepam withdrawal but had no effect 5 days after discontinuation of imidazenil treatment. The results support an involvement of the mesoaccumbens dopaminergic neurons in the withdrawal syndrome precipitated by flumazenil and allow further differentiation of benzodiazepine receptor partial and full agonists with respect to dependence liability of dopaminergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens.