Abstract
We report here observations indicating that the rat striatum can be partially protected from the neurotoxic action of locally applied kainic acid (KA, a rigid structural analogue of glutamic acid1) by procedures resulting in reduced serotonergic brain activity. This observation may be important because the striatal damage produced by KA shows morphological and neurochemical similarities to the changes seen in the striata of patients dying of Huntington's chorea2,3, an hereditary brain disorder, and because functional and morphological brain changes induced by KA have been proposed as a close model for human epilepsy4. Our observations thus suggest that serotonergic brain mechanisms influence the development of neuropathological changes accompanying certain neurological disorders.
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Berger, M., Sperk, G. & Hornykiewicz, O. Serotonergic denervation partially protects rat striatum from kainic acid toxicity. Nature 299, 254–256 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/299254a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/299254a0
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