Pm. Whitakerazmitia et al., SEROTONIN DEPLETION IN THE ADULT-RAT CAUSES LOSS OF THE DENDRITIC MARKER MAP-2 - A NEW ANIMAL-MODEL OF SCHIZOPHRENIA, Neuropsychopharmacology, 12(3), 1995, pp. 269-272
Many trophic factors are now thought to also function in maintenance o
f the adult brain. We hypothesized that since serotonin plays a role i
n synaptogenesis, it may also function in maintenance of synapses in t
he adult. Adult rats were depleted of serotonin with the tryptophan hy
droxylase inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) for 10 days. Fourteen
days after the final treatment, immunodensitometry showed a significa
nt decrease in the synaptic marker, MAP-2. Our results are discussed i
n respect to the recent finding of decreased MAP-2 staining in postmor
tem schizophrenic brains.