An investigation of the mechanisms of action of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the suppression of ethanol intake.
The effect of blockage of 5-hydroxytryptamine and norepinephrine uptake on voluntary ethanol consumption in rats was investigated. It was demonstrated that attenuation of ethanol intake occurred only as a result of treatment with specific 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake inhibitors. These results suggested that increasing the availability of central 5-hydroxytryptamine may in some way interfere with the positive reinforcing properties of ethanol. The second phase was designed to determine whether the attenuation of ethanol intake following blockade of 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake may be due to increased post-synaptic activity. Ethanol-preferring animals were pretreated with methergoline, a post-synaptic receptor blocker, followed by treatment with zimelidine, a 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake inhibitor. The results indicate that treatment with methergoline did not alter the zimelidine-induced attenuation of ethanol intake. Based on these results it is suggested that blockade of 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake produces an attenuation of ethanol intake but not as a result of increased post-synaptic activity.
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology
D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D012701:Serotonin; D009638:Norepinephrine