Excitatory and inhibitory behavioral responses to the pharmacological stimulation of serotonergic function in dorsalis raphe lesioned rats.

ABSTRACT

Neurotoxin-induced lesions of 5-HT neurons produce supersensitivity of 5-HT1 receptors without affecting 5-HT2 receptor binding in the brain. This model was used in the present work to analyze the role of 5-HT receptor subtypes in the mechanism controlling the excitatory and inhibitory behavioral responses to the pharmacological stimulation of 5-HT systems. Dorsalis raphe (DR) lesions were made by stereotaxic injection of kainic acid. At day 30 after injection DR-and control rats displayed similar baseline behavior in hole board tests. Three days later DR-and control rats received an ip injection of fluoxetine (5 or 10 mg/kg) 30 min before injecting ip 5-HTP(15 or 30 mg/kg). Immediately before and after each ip injection the excitatory response (myoclonic syndrome) was evaluated. DR-and control-group showed similar scores of myoclonus in response to fluoxetine-5-HTP. The inhibitory response was investigated in hole board trials performed 30 min after the second ip injection. The DR lesion potentiated the behavioral depressive effect of fluoxetine-5-HTP. In agreement with data in the literature the DR lesion caused 74.9