pubmed-article:1156019 | pubmed:abstractText | Duration of postictal coma following maximal electroshock seizure and monoamine levels in the whole brain were measured in mice. Pretreatment with intraperitoneal alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (alpha-MT), 5-hydroxytryptophane (5-HTP), or intraventricular 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) prolonged the coma duration, whereas p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) did not affect the coma, and L-DOPA tended to shorten the coma and counteracted the effect of alpha-MT. When the shock was repeated five times with one hour intervals, the duration of coma was progressively increased being accompanied by elevated serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) levels in the brain. In alpha-MT treated group, a striking parallelism was remarked between coma prolongation and norepinephrine (NE) or dopamine (DA) reduction. These data suggest that prolongation of postictal coma is correlated with reduced NE and DA levels and/or with elevated 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the brain. | lld:pubmed |