Maturational changes in amino acids in CNS of different mammalian species.

Abstract

The central nervous system (CNS) of rodents, cats, and dogs undergoes profound biochemical and functional alterations during postnatal ontogenesis under normal environmental conditions. The biochemical, physiological, and functional integration of the brain is accompanied by morphological differentiation and by electrophysiological maturation during the postnatal period in most of the rodents (with the exception of the guinea pig) in which rapid development of the CNS occurs during prenatal life [12]. The study of amino-acid metabolism in the developing brain deserves special consideration because of its great significance in the mechanisms of cellular growth and myelination and in the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids, biogenic amines, lipids, and phospholipids. In recent years, the study of free amino acids and related enzymes in the developing brain of different mammalian species has attracted increasing interest, not only in biochemistry and neurochemistry, but also in such fields as pharmacology, psychopharmacology, physiology, and genetics. Our interest in the comparative amino-acid metabolism of the developing brain has led us to collect data for different species.