Abstract
AN increased turnover of brain serotonin (5-hydroxy-tryptamine; 5-HT) occurs in rats exposed to high environmental temperature; when the synthesis of 5-HT is blocked a more rapid depletion of brain 5-HT occurs at an ambient temperature of 40° C (ref. 1). In addition, the concentration of the principal metabolite of 5-HT, 5- hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), is increased in the brain at this temperature (personal communication from R. K. McDonald). The mechanism of this activation of 5-HT turnover at high environmental temperature is not known, but a similar increase in 5-HIAA is seen when the neurones containing 5-HT (situated in the caudal midbrain raphé2) are electrically stimulated3,4. It follows that the increased turnover of 5-HT at high ambient temperatures could result from an acceleration of the firing rate of the neurones containing 5-HT. (+)-Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) completely inhibits the firing of neurones containing 5-HT (ref. 5). We have given LSD to rats exposed to high environmental temperatures to test the possibility that the increase in brain 5-HIAA found in these conditions is prevented by a drug which inhibits the firing of 5-HT-containing neurones.
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AGHAJANIAN, G., WEISS, B. Block by LSD of the Increase in Brain Serotonin Turnover induced by Elevated Ambient Temperature. Nature 220, 795–796 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220795a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220795a0
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