The concentration of glutamate in cerebral tissue as a factor for the assessment of the emotional state before death. A preliminary report

In this paper the concentration of glutamate in the hemispheres of the brain, the cerebellum and the brain stems of rats exposed to sensory stimulation before death and of control rats are presented. Statistically significant differences in the concentration of this neurotransmitter were found in the hemispheres of the brain in the cases of stress lasting 10 min and 1 min and in the cerebellum after a stress of 10 min. This suggests that it may be possible to diagnose the post-mortem state of emotional tension related to sensoric aversive input which takes place directly before death.