Abstract
1. The anterior horn of one lateral ventricle was perfused in anaesthetized cats treated with inhibitors of monoamine oxidase, and the effluent was tested for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT).2. The basal release of 5-HT varied from 0.25 to 4 ng in 25 min, and was usually about 1 ng.3. The basal release rose and fell with body temperature.4. Electrical stimulation for 15 min of the nucleus linearis intermedius or of the nucleus linearis rostralis caused a release of 5-HT which rarely outlasted the collection period of 25 min.5. Low frequencies (0.5/sec) were, per stimulus, more effective than high frequencies in releasing 5-HT. Over a 15 min period of stimulation, however, the highest total yield was at 20/sec; it fell abruptly at still greater frequencies.6. No release was obtained if the stimulating electrode was positioned in a variety of brain structures outside the two linear nuclei.7. The experiments indicate that 5-HT acts as a transmitter of impulses in neurones originating in the linear nuclei and terminating in caudate nucleus and septum.