title: Interactions between serotonergic and enkephalinergic neurons in rat striatum and hypothalamus.
abstract: We report evidence for an interaction between serotonergic and enkephalinergic neurons in rat striatum and hypothalamus. The administration of drugs such as p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine (5,6-DHT) and fenfluramine that lower the striatal and hypothalamic serotonin (5-HT) content caused an increase in Met-enkephalin-like immunoreactive material (ME-IR) in these brain areas. Moreover, chronic treatment with PCPA induced an increase in the number of striatal [3H][D]Ala2,Met5]enkephalinamide binding sites. These observations suggest that serotonergic neurons modulate the functional activity of enkephalinergic neurons in the rat striatum and hypothalamus. The significance of this interaction is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000378:metabolism; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000502:physiology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004745:Enkephalins; D012701:Serotonin; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine; D004298:Dopamine