Central action of phentolamine administered intraventricularly in the rat

Phentolamine injected intraventricularly in unanaesthetized rats decreased their locomotor activity and antagonized the excitatory effect of intraventricularly injected noradrenaline, or amphetamine injected s.c. Phentolamine did not influence the level of noradrenaline and 5-hydroxytryptamine in the rat brain. The mechanism of observed action of phentolamine is discussed.