Monoamine mechanisms in chronic schizophrenia: post-mortem neurochemical findings

Dopamine and its metabolites homovanillic acid and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, noradrenaline, serotonin and its metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and tryptophan and its metabolite kynurenine have been assayed in 9 schizophrenic and 10 control brains, together with the monoamine-related enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase monoamine oxidase, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, and catechol-o-methyl-transferase. In schizophrenic brains dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin were significantly increased in some areas of corpus striatum, but there were no significant changes in enzyme activity or monoamine metabolite concentrations in any of the brain areas examined. The findings are not consistent with theories that serotonin or noradrenaline stores are grossly depleted or noradrenaline neurones have degenerated, or that monoamine oxidase activity is abnormal, in schizophrenia, and provide no direct support for the hypothesis that dopamine neurones are overactive.