Serotonin modifies the spontaneous spiking activity of gracile nucleus neurons in rats: role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors.

Serotonin modifies the spontaneous spiking activity of gracile nucleus neurons in rats: role of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors. Arch Ital Biol. 2016 Jun 01;154(2-3):39-49 Authors: Grasso C, Li Volsi G, Barresi M Abstract We tested the effects of microiontophoretic application of serotonin (5-HT) on the firing rate of neurons located in the gracile nucleus (GN) of rats. Application of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 agonists and antagonists respectively mimicked/ modulated and blocked the effects produced by the amine, respectively. Among the tested neurons, 88.2% modified their background firing activity in the presence of 5-HT. Responsive neurons decreased their mean firing activity (MFA) in 56.7% of cases and increased it in the remaining 43.3%. To ascertain the specificity of the effects induced by 5-HT, we utilized 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) and alpha-methyl-5-hydroxytryptamine (α-MET-5-HT), agonists for 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors, respectively. The microiontophoresis of 8-OH-DPAT modified the background firing rate of all GN neurons (100% of tested neurons) mimicking the decrease of MFA evoked by 5-HT. The application of a-MET-5-HT modified the MFA in 76.9% of tested neurons, decreasing it in 61.5% of cases and increasing in the remaining 23.1%. The decrease of MFA induced by 8-OH-DPAT was antagonized by application of the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist N-[2-[-(2-Methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinylcyclohexanecar...
Source: Archives Italiennes de Biologie - Category: Neuroscience Tags: Arch Ital Biol Source Type: research