Effect of Acute Fluoxetine Treatment on the Brain Serotonin Synthesis as Measured by the α‐Methyl‐l‐Tryptophan Autoradiographic Method
- 1 July 1995
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Neurochemistry
- Vol. 65 (1) , 250-256
- https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.1995.65010250.x
Abstract
The effect of treatment with acute fluoxetine, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, on the rate of serotonin synthesis in the rat brain was studied through autoradiography following intravenous administration of α‐methyl‐l‐[3H]tryptophan. The rate of serotonin synthesis in fluoxetine‐treated rats was compared with the rate measured in sham‐treated rats (saline injection). Results showed a significant increase in the rate of synthesis in the majority of cerebral structures examined. The greatest increase (given as a percentage of rates in control animals) in the rate of serotonin synthesis was observed in the substantia nigra compacta (344%), hippocampus‐CA3 (337%), dorsal hippocampus (283%), and caudate‐putamen (232%). Fluoxetine had a less significant effect on the rate of synthesis in the pineal body (44%). Data suggest that acute fluoxetine treatment (30 mg/kg, i.p.) enhances the rate of serotonin synthesis in all the structures of rat brain examined in this work.Keywords
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