The effects of serotonin1A receptor on female mice body weight and food intake are associated with the differential expression of hypothalamic neuropeptides and the GABAA receptor.

Both common eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are characteristically diseases of women. To characterize the role of the 5-HT1A receptor (5-HT1A-R) in these eating disorders in females, we investigated the effect of saline or 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) treatment on feeding behavior and body weight in adult WT female mice and in adult 5-HT1A-R knockout (KO) female mice. Our results showed that KO female mice have lower food intake and body weight than WT female mice.

Changes in gene expression at inhibitory synapses in response to taurine treatment.

We have previously shown that chronic supplementation of taurine to mice significantly ameliorated the age-dependent decline in memory acquisition and retention. We also showed that concomitant with the amelioration in cognitive function, taurine caused significant alterations in the GABAergic and somatonergic system. These changes include increased levels of the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate, increased expression of both isoforms of GAD and the neuropeptide somatostatin, decreased hippocampal expression of the beta (β) 2/3 subunits of the GABA(A) receptor, an increase in the number of somatostatin-positive neurons, and an increase in the amplitude and duration of population spikes recorded from CA1 in response to Schaefer collateral stimulation and enhanced paired pulse facilitation in the hippocampus.