Acute and prolonged effects of ibogaine on brain dopamine metabolism and morphine-induced locomotor activity in rats.
Brain research March 13, 1992 I M Maisonneuve, K L Rossman, R W Keller et al. 86 citations
Ibogaine, a compound proposed for treating addiction to opiates and stimulants, produces both immediate and lasting changes in brain dopamine levels. One hour after a single injection, dopamine decreased by 50% while its metabolite HVA increased by 37–100% in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, and prefrontal cortex. Nineteen hours later, another metabolite, DOPAC, was reduced in the nucleus accumbens and striatum, and striatal DOPAC remained low after a week. No significant neurochemical changes were present after one month. Ibogaine pretreatment also reduced the stimulatory effect of morphine on movement when morphine was given 19 hours or a week later, but not after a month. These findings suggest ibogaine's effects on dopamine systems coincide with a sustained dampening of morphine-induced motor activity.