Abstract
Glutamic acid decarboxylase and γ-aminobutyric acid occur only in the brain among animal tissues, and their relation to psychotropic effects are to be considered. Effects on avoidance responses and behaviour of rats and monkeys were investigated, with glutamic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, γ-amino-β-hydroxybutyric acid, β-hydroxyglutamic acid, δ-aminovaleric acid and INAH. As a result, inhibition was brought by decarboxylation and activity was increased by β-hydroxylation. γ-Amino-β-hydroxybutyric acid and β- hydroxyglutamic acid which were antagonistic had more remarkable activity than glutamic acid, while δ-aminovaleric acid had no effect upon them. Different effects based upon species and conditons used in the experiment were discussed.
