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Abstract
Because available evidence suggests that alterations in the serotonergic as well as
dopaminergic tones underlie hallucinatory activity, we decided to investigate whether
serotonin and dopamine pathways are modified in alcoholics with a history of hallucinosis.
Brain serotonin has been shown to depend on the plasma ratio of its precursor tryptophan
over other amino acids competing with it for brain entry. Similarly, brain dopamine
depends on the plasma ratio of its precursors phenylalanine and dopamine over their
competitors. Amino acid abnormalities are common in alcoholics. For this reason, we
assessed whether alcoholics who had experienced hallucinations have alterations in
amino acids believed to be associated with neurotransmitter modifications. Patients
with a history of hallucinations were found to have a tryptophan ratio significantly
lower than that of patients without such a history, and a tyrosine + phenylalanine
ratio significantly higher. These data suggest that amino acid abnormalities believed
to result in decreased brain serotonin and in increased brain dopamine render certain
individuals more vulnerable to hallucinatory experiences.
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Article info
Publication history
Received in revised form:
June 20,
1985
Received:
March 15,
1985
Footnotes
☆Supported by the Veterans Administration and by grant AA06510 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Identification
Copyright
© 1985 Published by Elsevier Inc.
