Effect of 5-HT3 antagonists and a 5-HT(1A) agonist on fluoxetine-induced conditioned gaping reactions in rats.

Rationale: The effect of manipulation of the serotonin (5-HT) system on conditioned gaping (presumably reflective of nausea in rats) was evaluated.

Objective: The potential of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), fluoxetine (which produces nausea in the clinic), to produce conditioned gaping in rats and of the 5-HT(3) antagonists (ondansetron and palonosetron) and the 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor agonist (8-OH-DPAT) to reverse this effect were evaluated.

Materials And Methods: In each of four experiments, rats received three pairings of intraorally delivered 17% sucrose solution and fluoxetine (0, 2, 10 or 20 mg/kg) and 72 h later were given a drug-free test trial. In experiment 2, rats were pretreated with the 5-HT(3) antagonists, ondansetron (0, 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg) or the longer acting palonosetron (0.1 mg/kg), 30 min before each of three sucrose-fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) pairings. In experiment 3, rats were injected with palonosetron (0.1 mg/kg) 2 h before each of three sucrose-fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) or sucrose-lithium chloride (LiCl, 25 mg/kg) pairings. In experiment 4, rats were pretreated with the 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT (DPAT, 0.1 mg/kg) 30 min before each of three sucrose-fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) pairings.

Results: After two sucrose-fluoxetine pairings, the highest dose of fluoxetine tested (20 mg/kg) produced conditioned gaping reactions. These conditioned gaping reactions were prevented by pretreatment with DPAT, but not with the 5-HT(3) antagonists. On the other hand, palonosetron administered 2 h prior to sucrose-LiCl pairings attenuated conditioned gaping reactions.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the conditioned nausea produced by SSRIs, but not LiCl, may be resistant to treatment with 5-HT(3) antagonists, but not 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor agonists.