title: Postmortem and regional changes of serotonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and tryptophan in brain.
abstract: Using a specific and sensitive high pressure liquid chromatographic technique for the measurement of serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and tryptophan (TRP), we found that there were no changes in 5-HT or 5-HIAA in the rat cortex when left in situ for 6 h at room temperature or 24 h at 4 degrees C. Only a minimal 14% increase in 5-HT was observed after 24 h at 4 degrees C in the striatum of the same animals. Concentrations of TRP, however, were increased significantly in both brain regions by these postmortem delay procedures. A second study revealed that there were significant regional 5-HT and 5-HIAA concentration differences within the cerebral cortex. The frontal cortex was shown to have the highest concentrations of 5-HT and 5-HIAA. Further, within the frontal cortex, 5-HIAA levels varied, showing apparent progressive rostral to caudal increases. 5-HT concentrations, however, remained constant within the frontal cortex. These results are discussed in reference to the conflicting reports of the previous human suicide and postmortem studies.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000032:analysis / Q000473:pathology*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000032:analysis / Q000473:pathology*; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000032:analysis*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D014364:Tryptophan