Effect of Serotonin on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) in Man

Abstract

With the intraarterial ¹³³Xenon injection method, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured from 35 regions of a cerebral hemisphere. The effect of a constant infusion of serotonin (10–33 μg/min) for 2–5 min into the internal carotid artery was studied eight times in five patients. During rest, mean rCBF was 43.5 ml/100g/min as compared to 42.6 ml/100g/min during serotonin infusion. The latter value was altered to 42.8 ml/100g/min if correction for altered PaCO₂ was carried out. In neither instance was the difference significant. It is concluded that circulating serotonin is unlikely to cause the cerebrovascular alterations associated with classical migraine attacks.