Alpha-adrenoceptors and monoamine contents in the cerebral cortex of the rodent Jaculus orientalis : Effect of acute cold exposure

The triatiated adrenergic antagonists prazosin ((H)PRZ) and idazoxan (( super(H))IDA, or RX-781094) bind specifically and with high affinity to alpha sub(1)- and alpha sub(2)-adrenoceptors respectively, and were used to measure adrenoceptors in membrane preparations obtained from the cerebral cortex of Jaculus orientalis). Membrane preparations were also obtained from a group of cold exposed animals, to determine whether these adrenoceptors could be modified by a thermic stress. The catecholamine levels and their major metabolites were found to be stable in the cortex after the acute thermic stress, but there was a marked reduction in serotonin.