Abstract
The ability to measure neurochemical substances in brain tissue and the realization that a number of these neurochemical substances can be measured many hours after death in the human brain has clarified some of the neurochemical abnormalities that exist in disorders of the central nervous system. The discovery by Ehringer and Hornykiewicz (1960) of decreased concentration of dopamine in the post-mortem brain of patients dying with Parkinson’s disease resulted in the rational pharmacological administration of L-dopa which has given relief to patients with this disorder. Similarly, the decreased concentration of the neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) by Perry at al. (1973) and the decreased activity of the biosynthetic enzyme for GABA, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), by Bird et al. (1973) has given us some clearer understanding of the neurochemical defect in Huntington’s chorea.
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Bird, E.D. (1978). Neurochemical findings in the post-mortem schizophrenic brain. In: Hemmings, G., Hemmings, W.A. (eds) The Biological Basis of Schizophrenia. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6206-7_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6206-7_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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