Ontogeny of dopamine and serotonin metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid of children with neurological disorders.

Maturation of monoamine neuronal systems was studied by measuring cerebrospinal fluid metabolites of dopamine (homovanillic acid) and serotonin (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) in 38 children with epilepsy and other neurological disorders, to whom probenecid had previously been administered. The turnover of brain dopamine decreased with age. This ontogenetic course may be associated with developmental processes involving activity or cognitive maturation. Boys tended to have higher turnover of dopamine; girls tended to have higher turnover of serotonin. The sex effects may be related to the markedly greater vulnerability of boys to major neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood.