Immunization of rats with conjugates of dopamine and serotonin with bovine serum albumin prevents the development of experimental MPTP-induced depressive syndrome (electrophysiological parameters).
Electrophysiological experiments on Wistar rats demonstrated that prior immunization of animals with conjugates of dopamine and serotonin with bovine serum albumin, as well as with bovine serum albumin alone, played a partial protective role in relation to the subsequent development in these animals of experimental MPTP-induced depressive syndrome: immunized animals showed no signs of the depressive state such as decreases in the latency of onset of REM sleep and the development of epileptiform activity in the caudate-putamen complex, though the increase in the proportion of REM sleep in the overall structure of sleep persisted. Changes in the spectral characteristics of brain electrical activity and sleep structure during the development of experimental MPTP-induced syndrome in animals immunized with conjugates of dopamine and serotonin with bovine serum albumin and with bovine serum albumin alone were antigen-specific and reflected functional shifts in the activity of those neurotransmitter systems targeted by immunization, as well as others sensitive to changes in the body's immunological status.