Caudate electrochemical response following amphetamine administration in pigtail monkeys

In vivo electrochemical and heart rate (HR) recordings following amphetamine (AMPH) (0.8 mg/kg) and saline administration were made from caudate in four young adult pigtail ( M. nemestrina ) monkeys using linear sweep voltammetry. One hour following drug injection, two familiar humans served as test stimuli, and were visually exposed to the animals for 15-minute epochs each. One was threatening to the animals, and one was not. AMPH produced a significant increase in height of the electrochemical peak thought to represent oxidation of dopamine and its metabolites. Heart rate (HR) decreased during the time the peak height was increasing. HR and peak height increased during presentation of both humans under both AMPH and saline conditions. However, peak height increase under AMPH, but not saline, conditions discriminated the negative from neutral stimulus. The findings demonstrate that AMPH administration induces a significant increase in the height of a major electroactive peak in the caudate nucleus of pigtail monkeys, and further that such amphetamine-induced increases can be manipulated by altering the affective and/or emotional state of the animal.