Abstract
THE mammalian pineal gland has high concentrations of serotonin1–3 and of 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase (5-HTPD) (ref. 4), the enzyme which synthesizes serotonin. Innervation of the rat pineal gland is derived largely or solely from sympathetic nerve fibres the cell bodies of which are located in the superior cervical ganglia5. Fluorescent microscopic findings indicate that a large part of pineal serotonin content is localized in sympathetic nerve endings2. Following superior cervical ganglionectomy, the specific indole fluorescence in these nerves disappears2 and there is a 50 per cent decrease in pineal serotonin2,3.
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SNYDER, S., AXELROD, J., FISCHER, J. et al. Neural and Photic Regulation of 5-Hydroxytryptophan Decarboxylase in the Rat Pineal Gland. Nature 203, 981–982 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/203981a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/203981a0
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