A HYPOTHESIS REGARDING POSSIBLE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE PRESSURE-INDUCED DISORDERS IN DOPAMINERGIC AND AMINO-ACIDERGIC TRANSMISSION

When human divers or experimental animals are exposed to high pressure they develop the high pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS). The main symptoms include electroencephalographic changes and behavioral disturbances such as tremor, myoclonia, and hyperlocomotor activity. Recently, pressure-induced disorders in dopaminergic and amino-acidergic neurotransmission have been reported. In the present theoretical study, we review in vitro and in vivo neurochemical, electrophysiological, and pharmacobehavioral evidence concerning alterations in dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic transmission occurring at high pressure, and their possible relationship to the symptoms of HPNS. Moreover, we also examine data concerning interactions, at normal pressure, between dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic transmission that we suggest they could apply equally under high pressure between the pressure-induced disorders in dopaminergic and amino-acidergic transmission.