Abstract
Both the absolute levels and the turnover rates of the monoamines norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), and serotonin (5-HT) were measured in the brains of rats rendered epileptic by the application of cobalt powder to the surface of the cerebral cortex. Throughout the entire 21-day time course studied after cobalt treatment, during which a sustained reduction in the pentylenetetrazol (Metrazol) seizure threshold developed gradually within the first four days, whole brain levels of NE, DA, and 5-HT remained similar to their respective control values. Whereas the turnover rate of NE as well as that of DA in the brains of the cobalt-epileptic rats likewise remained within normal limits, both the rise of brain 5-HT after blockade of its metabolism and its decline from the brain after synthesis blockade followed time courses of change which differed significantly from those of the control groups. The decrease in 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) content of the brain caused by blockade of 5-HT catabolism, however, was found to be similar in cobalt-treated and control rats. These results suggest that the involvement of brain biogenic amines in the development and the maintenance of a chronic epileptic state differs markedly from the established role of these potential neurotransmitters in the production of acute seizure activity.
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