Tetanus intoxication causes an increment of serotonin in the central nervous system

Mice injected with tetanus toxin (TTx) showed an increase of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin, 5-HT) levels in the central nervous system. The increment was not uniform throughout the central nervous system. Particularly significant were the 25% and 80% increases observed, respectively, in whole brain and spinal cord. The levels of dopamine and norepinephrine remained unchanged. The subsequent studies of 5-HT turnover revealed a synthesis rate in the tetanic animals that was almost double that of controls. The degradation rate of the amine as well as the levels of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid were unaffected.