Effect of Brain Lesions on Striatal Monoamines in the Cat

Abstract

IN previous studies in the monkey, it was observed that there is a direct relationship betwen the interruption of ascending nervous fibers at the level of the ventromedial area of the upper brain stem, the retrograde cellular degeneration in the ipsilateral substantia nigra,¹and the depletion of dopamine in both parts of the homolateral striatum.^2-4Similarly, the depletion of serotonin in the striatum was attributed to the interruption of the most dorsomedial fibers of the cerebral peduncle on the corresponding side.^5,6These neuroanatomical and neurochemical changes are apparently important factors in the appearance of extrapyramidal signs and, more precisely, in the genesis of abnormal movements.^2,4-6Moreover, there is a close relationship between such results in the monkey and the findings previously reported in parkinsonian patients.⁷In the light of our previous findings in the monkey,^1-6it was thought worthwhile to verify the results