Abstract
IT is now well established that the sedative action of reserpine is closely associated with loss of noradrenaline and disappearance of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) in the brain1–3. However, those amines the lack of which is responsible for the sedative action of reserpine are as yet unknown. If lack of amines were responsible for the tranquillizing effects of reserpine, then the administration of amines should counteract these effects. However, there is the blood-brain barrier to amines. There are two ways of bringing about an increase in amine content of the brain: one is the administration of the precursors of the amines, the other is the central administration of them. Intraperitoneal injection of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, a precursor of catecholamine, produced complete counteraction of the reserpine action; on the other hand, the injection of 5-hydroxytryptophan, a precursor of 5HT, did not4. This supports the assumption that lack of catecholamine in the brain is responsible for the sedative action of reserpine.
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MATSUOKA, M., YOSHIDA, H. & IMAIZUMI, R. Correlation between Brain Catecholamine and Sedative Action of Reserpine. Nature 202, 198 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/202198a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/202198a0
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