Failure of Acute Bilateral Adrenalectomy to Influence Brain Serotonin Levels in the Rat

Abstract

The fluorimetric, chemical estimation for brain serotonin level was applied to the following groups of rats: control, sham operated, bilateral adrenalectomized (24 hr. postoperative), and iproniazid treated (100 mg/kg - 18 hr. prior to estimation). The mean values obtained for these groups were 0.43 [plus or minus] .06, 050 [plus or minus] 0.10, 0.52 [plus or minus] 0.09, and 1.14 [plus or minus] 0.13 [mu]g serotonin per gram of brain tissue, respectively. These results are in contrast to those obtained by De Maio (Science 129: 1678. 1959) who obtained 0.69 and 1.43 [mu]g serotonin per gram tissue for control and bilateral adrenalectomized animals using a bioassay procedure. It is suggested that these differences are a result of differences in methods employed.