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Biomedical subjects

K Polk

Publications and source records attributed to K Polk.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Behavioral and neurochemical effects of continuous infusion of cocaine in rats.

The ability of continuous intravenous infusion of cocaine (60 mg/kg per day for 11 or 12 days; by osmotic minipump) to alter responses to acute injection of cocaine (20 mg/kg, i.p.; given 24 hr after termination of the infusion by minipump) was tested in conscious, tethered Sprague-Dawley rats. Extracellular levels of cocaine, dopamine and metabolites of dopamine in the striatum were determined by in vivo microdialysis. Locomotor activity and stereotyped behavior were evaluated simultaneously during dialysis sampling. Prior infusion of cocaine blunted the ability of acute challenge with cocaine to increase the efflux of dopamine in the striatum, locomotor activity and stereotypy. Increases in extracellular levels of homovanillic acid in the striatum were significantly greater in cocaine-infused rats than vehicle-infused controls, both prior to and after acute injections of cocaine. However, no differences between these two groups were observed in levels of cocaine in the striatum after acute challenge. Extracellular levels of dopamine in the striatum correlated significantly (P less than 0.05) with stereotypy in both groups but with locomotor activity only in cocaine-infused rats. The results indicate that behavioral tolerance occurred after continuous intravenous infusions of cocaine, that this was correlated with neurochemical tolerance to acute cocaine challenge and that alterations in the metabolism of cocaine did not account for the observed behavioral responses.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Cocaine elevates striatal dopamine efflux in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats.

The effects of acute cocaine administration on central dopaminergic systems were examined in the striata of spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats with the use of an in vivo microdialysis technique. Increased extracellular levels of dopamine were observed for 45 to 75 minutes following acute cocaine administration in both halothane-anesthetized and conscious SHR and WKY. However, no significant differences were noted between anesthetized and conscious SHR and WKY in either baseline levels or cocaine-induced changes in extracellular levels of dopamine and its metabolites. A positive, linear correlation between extracellular levels of dopamine and cocaine was demonstrated for the 60-min period following acute cocaine administration in both SHR and WKY. The slopes of the linear regression plots obtained from the data of each 15-min sample was slightly, but significantly, higher in conscious SHR than in conscious WKY. The present results suggest a transient and dose-related stimulation of striatal dopamine release following acute cocaine administration and a linear relationship between striatal extracellular levels of dopamine and cocaine in both SHR and WKY.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1992

On understanding homicide.

There are many faces of homicide, and there are no simple preventive cures. There is scarce comfort in knowing the homicide is, in fact, rare (there being roughly 60 cases per year in Victoria), or that a person is several times more likely to die by his or her own hand than that of someone else. Our current research suggests that there are some consistent patterns in the form that homicide takes. Hopefully, the more we understand these scenarios, the better we will be able to recognise the underlying conditions that push people to the point where they will think the unthinkable, and knowingly take the life of another person.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Continuous polarographic monitoring of intra-arterial oxygen in the perioperative period.

Intra-arterial PO2 (PiO2) was polarographically monitored in ten critically ill patients during induction of anesthesia, the intraoperative period, extubation, and the immediate postoperative period; 147 PiO2 values were then paired with simultaneous measurements of PaO2. Mean PiO2 closely followed mean PaO2 over a wide range of values (r = .97), and the continuous, online real-time PiO2 readings provided a useful early warning system for hypoxemia during crisis periods. Technical problems included catheter clotting from improper flushing, changes in PiO2 due to changes in body temperature, the need for in vitro and in vivo calibration, and sensor drift. However, these problems were resolved by appropriate catheter management and sensor calibration.

Blood Gas Analysis↗