piperidines and 2-bromolysergic-acid-diethylamide

Associative learning during classical trace eyeblink conditioning has been shown to be regulated by serotonin 5-HT(2A )receptors and to be critically dependent on the integrity of frontal cortex. Chronic administration of 5-HT(2A) ligands has been shown to produce a selective up- or down-regulation of 5-HT(2A) receptors in frontal cortex.. We examined whether alterations in 5-HT(2A) receptor density had a functional significance with respect to associative learning.. Animals received chronic injections of LSD, BOL or MDL11,939 and 1 day later began classical trace conditioning of the eyeblink response.. The density of 5-HT(2A) receptors in frontal cortex was significantly increased at 1-4 days after the cessation of chronic injections of the selective 5-HT(2A) receptor ligand MDL11,939. Rabbits demonstrated an enhancement of associative learning when training began at 1 day after cessation of chronic MDL11,939 injections, but acquired at the same rate as controls when training began at 8 days after cessation of injections, a time when receptor density had returned to control levels. Animals that began training 1 day after chronic injections of BOL or LSD, drugs that produce decreases in 5-HT(2A) receptor density, demonstrated normal rates of acquisition.. These results indicate that increases in the density of 5-HT(2A) receptors in frontal cortex are associated with increases in the rate of associative learning, and further support an important role for this receptor in cortical circuitry that mediates learning. More generally, these results suggest an approach for functional remodeling of brain regions in the adult animal.

Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Blinking; Conditioning, Classical; Learning; Ligands; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; Male; Piperidines; Prefrontal Cortex; Rabbits; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonists; Time Factors

This study examined the role of the serotonin 5-HT2 receptor in motor function by examining the effect of antagonists on the motor performance of a cranial nerve reflex, the nictitating membrane (NM) reflex of the rabbit. The NM reflex was elicited by varying intensities of a tactile stimulus and the magnitudes of the elicited responses were measured at each intensity. Dose-response curves were obtained for the effects of several 5-HT2 receptor antagonists on response magnitude. d-Bro-molysergic acid diethylamide (BOL), LY-53,857 and ketanserin had no significant effect on the magnitude of the NM reflex, indicating that they are neutral antagonists. However, the 5-HT2 receptor antagonists ritanserin, MDL-11,939 and mianserin produced a significant reduction in response magnitude with no significant effects on response frequency, suggesting that they were acting as inverse agonists at the 5-HT2 receptor. The reduction in reflex magnitude produced by mianserin (10 micromol/kg) was fully blocked by BOL (5.8 micromol/kg), supporting the conclusion that mianserin was producing a reduction in reflex magnitude through an effect at the 5-HT2 receptor. The occurrence of inverse agonism suggests the possible existence of constitutive activity in vivo. We conclude that the 5-HT2 receptor (either 2A or 2C) plays an important role in motor function, perhaps by providing a tonic influence on motor systems.

Topics: Animals; Cranial Nerves; Ergolines; Female; Ketanserin; Lysergic Acid Diethylamide; Male; Mianserin; Piperidines; Rabbits; Receptors, Serotonin; Reflex; Ritanserin; Serotonin Antagonists; Serotonin Receptor Agonists