Abstract
Summary
The effect in vivo of L-glutamic acid-γ-hydrazide and of pyridoxal phosphate-γ-glutamyl hydrazone on rate of formation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from labeled glutamate in mice brain was studied. It was found that both substances inhibited GABA formation and that this inhibition was maximal at the moment convulsions occur. Since the total concentration of GABA in brain is increased by glutamic acid-γ-hydrazide but decreased by pyridoxal phosphate-γ-glutamyl hydrazone, it is suggested that the rate of GABA formation, independently of its total concentration, is probably a factor in the production of some kinds of convulsions. It is also suggested that the site of GABA formation in brain appears to be a critical one, and that this critical site might be the synaptic cleft.
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