Hall R D, Leahy J P, Robertson W M
Physiol Behav. 1983 Aug;31(2):187-95. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(83)90117-8.
Rats subjected to early protein malnutrition have higher levels of brain serotonin (5-HT) than well-nourished rats. In the present study we asked whether the elevated 5-HT levels of associated with any changes in sensitivity to serotonergic stimulation. In four different behavioral tets the effects of the 5-HT agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) were, with only a few exceptions, smaller in rats malnourished during both pre- and postweaning stages of development or during just one period or the other. In Experiment 1 the 5-HT syndrome induced by DMT was weaker in malnourished rats than in well-nourished ones. In Experiments 2 and 3, DMT was not a disruptive to malnourished rats in two motor tasks, rotating rod and treadmill, as it was to rats reared under high protein conditions. In Experiment 4 reductions in acoustic startle amplitudes induced by DMT were not as large in malnourished as in well-nourished rats. The hyposensitivity to DMt in protein malnourished rats may reflect a diminished sensitivity of 5-HT receptors resulting from the abnormally high levels of the neurotransmitter.
遭受早期蛋白质营养不良的大鼠，其大脑血清素（5-羟色胺，5-HT）水平比营养良好的大鼠更高。在本研究中，我们探究了血清素水平升高是否与对血清素能刺激的敏感性变化有关。在四项不同的行为测试中，5-羟色胺激动剂N,N-二甲基色胺（DMT）的作用，除了少数例外，在发育的断奶前和断奶后阶段均营养不良的大鼠中，或仅在其中一个阶段营养不良的大鼠中，其效果都比营养良好的大鼠要小。在实验1中，DMT诱发的5-羟色胺综合征在营养不良的大鼠中比在营养良好的大鼠中更弱。在实验2和3中，在旋转杆和跑步机这两项运动任务中，DMT对营养不良的大鼠没有像对高蛋白条件下饲养的大鼠那样产生干扰。在实验4中，DMT诱发的听觉惊吓幅度降低在营养不良的大鼠中不如在营养良好的大鼠中那么大。蛋白质营养不良的大鼠对DMT的低敏感性可能反映了由于神经递质水平异常高导致的5-羟色胺受体敏感性降低。
