Audiogenic seizures and brain serotonin after L-tryptophan and p-chlorophenylalanine

Despite intense investigation, the role of serotonergic neurons in audiogenic seizures in mice remains uncertain. In the work reported here, audiogenic seizure susceptibility and brain tryptophan and serotonin concentrations were measured in DBA/2J mice after administration of three doses of L-tryptophan or p-chlorophenylalanine. p-Chlorophenylalanine reduced brain serotonin and significantly prolonged the latency to appearance of all seizure phases. L-tryptophan was largely ineffective in protecting against seizures and in elevating brain serotonin content, despite the fact that it caused a marked increase in brain tryptophan content. Thus, it appears that DBA/2J mice have an impaired ability to synthesize serotonin from tryptophan.