Modification of serotonin metabolism in rat brain after acute or chronic administration of morphine

Abstract

The steady state concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was elevated in rat brain for at least 4 hr after administration of a single dose of morphine sulfate (30 mg/kg, s.c.), and for more than 40 hr after subcutaneous implantation of pellets of morphine alkaloid. The concentration of 5-HIAA returned to normal 3 days after pellet implantation at a rate that paralleled the development of tolerance to the analgesic and other overt actions of morphine. Morphine did not modify the steady state concentration of serotonin under any of the treatment conditions. The turnover of brain serotonin was increased significantly during the 90-min period following a single injection of morphine sulfate (30 mg/kg, s.c.), as indicated by an increased rate of accumulation of 5-HIAA after blockade of efflux of 5-HIAA by probenecid in morphinetreated animals. As judged either by the rate of accumulation of 5-HIAA after administration of probenecid, or by the rate of accumulation of serotonin after treatment with pargyline, an increase in turnover of serotonin was evident in brains of tolerant rats 72 hr after pellet implantation. The rate of efflux of 5-HIAA from the brain was the same in control and morphine-tolerant rats. These results indicate that changes in brain serotonin metabolism are associated with both the acute effects of morphine and with morphine tolerance.