Effect of an hyperbaric nitrogen narcotic ambience on arginine and citrulline levels, the precursor and co-product of nitric oxide, in rat striatum

Table 3 Overwiew of the effect of nitrogen at 3MPa on rat striatal neurotransmitters, based on previous literature and the current study.

Levels of striatal ...	DA	Glu	Cit-NO
Basal effect of nitrogen at 3MPa ...	down	down	down
... with NMDA retrodialysis	up	down	down
compared to the basal effect	more	same	same
... with PFC retrodialysis	down	down	up
compared to the basal effect	same	same	more

Effects are reported after exposure to pressurized nitrogen at 3MPa for dopamine (DA), glutamate (Glu) and citrulline (Cit-NO) levels. DA and Glu levels refer to previous studies [4–6]. We considered citrulline as a good index of nitric oxide (NO) levels in the brain. The effect of nitrogen at 3MPa comparing basal values in atmospheric ambiance is noted in bold letters. The comparison between the basal effect of nitrogen at 3MPa and its effect combined with a chemical stimulation by retrodialysis is noted in italic letters.

ISSN: 2045-9912