Effects of anisomycin and CNS stimulants on brain catecholamine synthesis.

Mice were injected with anisomycin, an inhibitor of cerebral protein synthesis; d-amphetamine, strychnine, or caffeine was administered 30 min later. Fifteen min before sacrifice at 1 or 2 hr after injection of anisomycin, 3H-tyrosine was injected intravenously, and catecholamine synthesis rates were estimated by measurement of the specific activity of 3H-tyrosine and the accumulation of 3H-norepinephrine and 3H-dopamine. Anisomycin decreased synthesis rates of catecholamines, but this effect was not significantly affected by any of the CNS stimulants. These results suggest that the recently reported reversal of anisomycin-induced amnesia by these stimulants is not due to an attenuation of brain catecholamine synthesis inhibition.