Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Paradigms for Pharmacological Characterization of C. elegans Synaptic Transmission Mutants
Published on: August 18, 2008
Tetanus intoxication causes an increment of serotonin in the central nervous system
Abstract:
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.
Related Concept Videos
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters
Directly Acting Muscle Relaxants: Dantrolene and Botulinum Toxin
The binding of dantrolene to the RYR1...
Muscle Stimulation Frequency
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...
Toxidromes: Clinical Features
Tetanus
Botulism

