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A comparison of 5-hydroxytryptophan effects on rat lumbar spinal cord serotonin release and monosynaptic response
G Samathanam1, P Duffy, P W Kalivas
1Department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-6520.
Abstract:
The physiological effects of injections of the serotonin precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) are thought to result from increased serotonin (5-HT) release, although release has not been directly measured in vivo. This study compared the effects of 5-HTP on rat lumbar spinal cord monosynaptic response (MSR) amplitude and on 5-HT release into lumbar extracellular fluid as measured by in vivo dialysis. 5-HTP significantly increased the amplitude of the MSR and significantly increased the amount of 5-HT in dialysate samples suggesting that 5-HTP enhances the lumbar MSR amplitude by increasing 5-HT release.