Serotonin models of myoclonus in the guinea pig and rat.

Myoclonus could not be induced in rats with either L-5-HTP alone or hypoxia. Following amine depletion or destruction of the serotonin neurons with 5,7-DHT, myoclonus appeared as part of a complex serotonergic behavioral syndrome induced by serotonin agonists. On the other hand, in the guinea pig, L-5-HTP induces a pure myoclonic syndrome in a dose-dependent fashion. Myoclonus also was induced by injection of serotonin into the dorsal pons of the guinea pig. This is additional evidence confirming the importance of the brainstem structures in the L-5-HTP guinea pig model of myoclonus. Deoxyglucose (DG) autoradiography in guinea pigs following systemic L-5-HTP administration demonstrated increased glucose metabolism within thalamic and third nerve nuclei, with decreased metabolism in the cortex, and the molecular layer of the hippocampus. Since serotonin is an inhibitory transmitter, we hypothesize that the decreases observed in cortex may be the result of direct serotonergic inhibition, whereas the increases observed in the thalamus probably represent indirect effects via polysynaptic pathways.