SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in November 2019. COVID-19 has caused more than 4 million deaths worldwide. In addition to death, SARS-CoV-2 can cause many negative health consequences in humans. Physical as well as mental health is at stake. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are a tool in the fight against the pandemic. Moreover, experimental studies indicate that various species of animals can become infected with the virus. Breeding minks can become infected symptomatically and spread the virus to the environment, thus constituting a virus reservoir. Mink farms positive for SARS-CoV-2 are hazardous and ought to be euthanized.

The aim of the research was to confirm the hypothesis about the direct influence of different concentrations of glutamate (Glu; 5, 50 and 200 μM) on the release of catecholamines (CA’s) from hippocampal slices incubated for 90 min. The hippocampus is the central structure of the motivational system and, along with the hypothalamus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is responsible for memory, learning, and the initiation and course of the reaction to stressoric factors. In our research, we focused on the direct effect of different Glu concentrations on CA release without the involvement of other neural cerebral structures and humoral responses. The effect of Glu added to the incubation fluid was found to be inconsistent. When added at the lowest concentration, Glu inhibited the release of CA from the incubated slices, and at higher concentrations tended to increase the release of CA. Notably, Glu significantly increased the release of epinephrine (E) from incubated slices of the hippocampus. These effects may suggest that physiological concentrations of Glu inhibit CA release from hippocampal neurons in vitro and therefore enhance its excitatory effects in vivo.