Pargyline and tryptophan enhancement of tonic immobility: paradoxical attenuation with combined administration.

Four experiments were conducted to examine the individual and combined effects of pargyline and tryptophan on the duration of tonic immobility in chickens. Injection of either compound alone produced a dose-dependent potentiation of tonic immobility. However, combined administration of pargyline and tryptophan resulted in a dramatic attenuation of the response and this effect was completely blocked by pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine. In addition to reducing the duration of tonic immobility, combined administration of pargyline and tryptophan produced a complex behavioral syndrome which may be analogous to that observed in mammals after similar drug treatment. These results suggest the need for a modification of the recently proposed serotonergic-raphe model of tonic immobility.