Effects of insulin on brain serotonin in the young rat: influence of thyroid status

Thyroid status has been shown to modify the adrenal catecholaminergic response to insulin. The influence of thyroid status on the brain serotonergic response to insulin is the subject of the present report. Newborn rats were divided into three groups: euthyroid, hypothyroid (propylthiouracil given to the suckling mother), and hypothyroid-treated with triiodothyronine (T3) as replacement therapy. At 14 days of age, the animals in each group received either insulin (10 IU/kg SC) or saline. Levels of serotonin (5-HT) and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were determined in several brain regions. Hypothyroidism induced increases in hypothalamic 5-HT and 5-HIAA and in cortical 5-HIAA levels. The elevations in 5-HIAA levels were reversed by T3. Insulin treatment-induced increases in 5-HIAA levels in all brain regions of both the hypothyroid and the T3-replaced rats. Thyroid status thus influences the serotonergic response to insulin in the young rat, but contrary to what occurred in adrenals for catecholamines, hypothyroidism enhances the central serotonergic response to insulin.