Cerebrospinal fluid studies of monoamine metabolism in schizophrenia.

The authors review the studies of spinal fluid monoamines and their metabolites with and without probenecid and during drug-free and medicated conditions. Although technical knowhow and understanding of the variable that influence the actual levels measured has dramatically increased over the last 20 years, many questions still remain. Despite or rather because of advances such as CT, PET, and MRI, CSF studies still carry great promise for understanding the illness, predicting drug response, and behavioral change following drug withdrawal.