Psychosomatic Medicine 31:107-114 (1969)
© 1969 American Psychosomatic Society

Indoleamines and Affective Disorders

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y.; Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, Calif. 94129

Evidence linking indoleamines and depressive disorders is reviewed. The synthesis and degradation of indoleamines, their storage and distribution in the central nervous system, as well as their transfer across the blood-brain barrier is included in this review.

Data have been published that indicate indoleamines potentiate a depressive patient's response to the monoamine oxidase inhibitors. In addition to this therapeutic response, evidence of indoleamine abnormalities in depressive states have been reported in the lungs, kidneys, spinal fluid, and the brain itself. These reports are summarized and discussed.

Recently, evidence has been presented that the pharmacologic action of morphine is dependent on the metabolic turn-over rate of an indoleamine. Because of the known mood-elevating qualities of morphine, this is presented as a potential connection between indoleamines and affective states other than depressive disorders.