Simultaneous Measurement of Striatal Dopamine and Hydrogen Peroxide Transients Associated with L-DOPA Induced Rotation in Hemiparkinsonian Rats

[Image: see text] Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder commonly treated with levodopa (L-DOPA), which eventually induces abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs). The neurochemical contributors to these dyskinesias are unknown; however, several lines of evidence indicate an interplay of dopamine (DA) and oxidative stress. Here, DA and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) were simultaneously monitored at discrete recording sites in the dorsal striata of hemiparkinsonian rats using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. Mass spectrometry imaging validated the lesions. Hemiparkinsonian rats exhibited classic L-DOPA-induced AIMs and rotations as well as increased DA and H(2)O(2) tone over saline controls after 1 week of treatment. By week 3, DA tone remained elevated beyond that of controls, but H(2)O(2) tone was largely normalized. At this time point, rapid chemical transients were time-locked with spontaneous bouts of rotation. Striatal H(2)O(2) rapidly increased with the initiation of contraversive rotational behaviors in lesioned L-DOPA animals, in both hemispheres. DA signals simultaneously decreased with rotation onset. The results support a role for these striatal neuromodulators in the adaptive changes that occur with L-DOPA treatment in PD and reveal a precise interplay between DA and H(2)O(2) in the initiation of involuntary locomotion.