Summary
Tryptamine applied intracisternally can produce catatonia in cats. This effect can be antagonized by 5-H.T. which itself never causes catatonia.
The central — autonomic effects elicited by injections of 5-H.T. and of Tryptamine in the cisterna magna are qualitatively the same; Tryptamine having the weaker effect.
These facts lead us to the hypothesis that both substances act in the C.N. S. on the same receptors, Tryptamine having the lower intrinsic activity; thus, Tryptamine must be a competitive inhibitor of 5-H.T. The catatonia produced by Tryptamine might then be regarded as the consequence of a shortage of 5-H.T. on certain receptors in the C. N. S.
The effect of Tryptamine lasts longer than that of 5-H.T.; Tryptamine also shows a cumulative pattern, 5-H.T. does not. After Iproniazld (Marsilid) administration this difference is not observed, being obviously dependent on the rate of de struction.
Without Iproniazid, 5-H.T. can suppress or prevent the Tryptaminecatatonia only for a restricted period of time, with Iproniazid this suppression respectively prevention is unlimited.
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Ernst, A.M., van Andel, H. & Charbon, G.A. Beruht die experimentelle Katatonie durch Tryptamin auf einer Verdrängung des 5-Hydroxytryptamin?. Psychopharmacologia 2, 425–435 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00407441
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00407441