Developmental Variations in CSF Monoamine Metabolites during Childhood

Abstract

Cerebrospinal (CSF) fluid content of the stable metabolites homovanillic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl glycol and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were measured in 19 children without neurological disease known to alter CSF monoamine metabolites. The CSF levels of all three metabolites were found to be up 6 times higher in early infancy compared to the values during adolescence. The levels decreased in a logarithmic fashion, and adult values (approx. 25–50 ng/ml) were reached at 3–5 years of age. Two different interpretations of the findings are discussed: (1) a higher release or turnover of central serotonin and catecholamine metabolites during early postnatal age, or (2) lower clearance of the stable acid metabolites from CSF during infancy due to relatively immature active transport mechanisms.

Brain development in rodents and humans: Identifying benchmarks of maturation and vulnerability to injury across species

“…As glutamate receptors have been implicated in the modulation of cell death after perinatal brain injury (Lea and Faden, 2001), it is likely that age-specific vulnerability is somewhat dependent on the developmental expression of these neurotransmitter networks. 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, or serotonin) increases in the human brain during the first two years of life, before declining to adult levels by the age of five (Hedner et al, 1986). In mice, cortical 5-HT rises to double the adult level during the first postnatal week, coinciding with an up-regulation of receptor expression and function, which is hypothesized to be involved in the establishment of physiological functions such as sleep, appetite, learning and memory (Zhang, 2006).…”

The orbitofrontal–amygdala circuit and self-regulation of social–emotional behavior in autism

“…During normal development in humans, brain serotonin levels increase throughout the first two to five years and then decline of more than 50% to reach the adult levels (Chugani et al, 1999;Hedner et al, 1986). Functional imaging studies indicate that, unlike non-autistic children who show serotonin synthesis capacity greater than 200% of adult values until the age of 5 years, autistic children had lower levels of serotonin synthesis (Chugani et al, 1997, Chugani et al, 1999.…”

Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentrations of Neurotensin and Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in Pediatric Patients

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