The levels of monoamines and their metabolites were studied by HPLC with electrochemical detection in homogenates of hypothalamus, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala in intact and neuroticized Wistar rats with different types of behavior in the open field and forced swimming tests. Intact rats with intermediate levels of activity and depressivity had higher serotonin concentrations in the hypothalamus and lower noradrenaline and hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels in the hippocampus than rats characterized by low activity and high depressivity. In neuroticization, the levels of study monoamines and their metabolites decreased in all the brain structures investigated with the exceptions of an increase in the dopamine concentration in the hippocampus and the dihydroxyphenylacetic acid concentration in the prefrontal cortex. The effect of neuroticization on the neurotransmitter systems in all study structures except the hypothalamus depended on the typological characteristics of the rats. This was most marked in rats with the extreme types of behavior--active and passive--in which changes in monoamine and metabolite contents were seen in all brain structures studied. Rats of the intermediate type showed no changes in any of the substances studied in the hippocampus.

Experiments on Wistar rats showed that modeling of hemorrhage in the left caudate nucleus of the brain in behaviorally passive specimens is mainly accompanied by an increase in biogenic amine content in the sensorimotor cortex of the right cerebral hemisphere (particularly on day 3 after the surgery). Norepinephrine content in the sensorimotor cortex of the right cerebral hemisphere in behaviorally active rats was reduced over 7 days after the development of intracerebral hemorrhage. The contents of dopamine and serotonin in brain tissue of behaviorally active animals most significantly increased on day 7 after experimental stroke. Our results indicate that experimental hemorrhage in the left caudate nucleus of rats with various behavioral characteristics is accompanied by specific changes in biogenic amine content in the sensorimotor cortex of the right cerebral hemisphere. We conclude that neurochemical processes in brain structures distant from the site of hemorrhage play an important role in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic stroke.

Plasma contents of catecholamines and cortisol are measured in patients with spinal trauma and spinal cord injury by high-performance liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay. Compared with healthy donors and patients with skull injury, the epinephrine content in spinal patients is increased significantly, while the cortisol content shows a tendency toward an increase. This suggests that disturbances both in the transmitter and hormonal systems persist 2-3 weeks after trauma, complicating its treatment.

Measurement of plasma catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine) by the method of high-performance liquid chromatography showed significantly elevated epinephrine levels in patients with spinal and spinal cord trauma as compared to healthy donors and patients with craniocerebral trauma. The neuroendocrine abnormalities detected in patients with traumatic disease of the spinal cord aggravated this disease. The elevated blood level of epinephrine, which is a sign of heightened activity of the sympathoadrenal system, points to an important role of neurotransmitters in the establishment of a pathological state in traumatic injuries to the vertebral column and spinal cord.