Flibanserin, a potential antidepressant drug, lowers 5-HT and raises dopamine and noradrenaline in the rat prefrontal cortex dialysate: role of 5-HT(1A) receptors.

(1) Using in vivo intracerebral microdialysis in conscious, freely moving rats, we examined the effect of flibanserin, a potential antidepressant drug with high affinity for human 5-HT(1A) receptors and four-50-fold lower affinity for 5-HT(2A) and D(4) receptors, on basal extracellular concentrations of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) in selected regions of the rat brain. (2) Flibanserin at 3 and 10 mg kg(-1) significantly reduced extracellular 5-HT in the prefrontal cortex (by 30 and 45%) and dorsal raphe (35 and 44%), but had no effect on extracellular 5-HT in the ventral hippocampus. The 3 and 10 mg kg(-1) doses raised extracellular NA to a similar extent in the prefrontal cortex (47 and 50%).

The alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan reverses catalepsy induced by haloperidol in rats independent of striatal dopamine release: role of serotonergic mechanisms.

The alpha(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist idazoxan may improve motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease and experimental Parkinsonism. We studied the effect of idazoxan on haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rats, an animal model of the drug-induced extrapyramidal side effects in man. Catalepsy was induced by a subcutaneous (s.

Stimulation of serotonin1B receptors induces conditioned place aversion and facilitates cocaine place conditioning in rats.

Rationale: Changes in serotonin(1B) (5-HT(1B)) receptor function appear to modify the reinforcing properties of cocaine, but the direction of this effect is not completely clear. Pharmacological stimulation of 5-HT(1B) enhanced the rewarding properties of self-administered cocaine while attenuating the threshold-reducing effect of cocaine in the intracerebral brain stimulation procedure.

Objective: The present study investigates how pharmacological modification of 5-HT(1B) receptor-mediated neurotransmission influence cocaine motivational properties in the conditioned place preference paradigm in rats.

Limbic seizures induce P-glycoprotein in rodent brain: functional implications for pharmacoresistance.

The causes and mechanisms underlying multidrug resistance (MDR) in epilepsy are still elusive and may depend on inadequate drug concentration in crucial brain areas. We studied whether limbic seizures or anticonvulsant drug treatments in rodents enhance the brain expression of the MDR gene (mdr) encoding a permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) involved in MDR to various cancer chemotherapeutic agents. We also investigated whether changes in P-gp levels affect anticonvulsant drug concentrations in the brain.

Stimulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT(2C) ) receptors in the ventrotegmental area inhibits stress-induced but not basal dopamine release in the rat prefrontal cortex.

The present study investigated whether 5-HT(2C) receptors in the ventrotegmental area and prefrontal cortex regulate basal and stimulus-evoked dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex. Using the in vivo microdialysis technique in conscious rats, we studied the effect of a selective 5-HT(2C) receptor agonist, Ro60-0175, on basal and immobilization stress-induced dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex. Ro60-0175 intraperitoneally (2.