title: 5-HT receptors: implications for the neuropharmacology of alcohol and alcoholism.
abstract: The involvement of serotonergic mechanisms in the neuropharmacology of alcohol was appreciated before it was recognized that there were multiple subtypes of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) receptors. Thus, it was known that manipulations of the central serotonergic system could lead to a modification of the rate of tolerance development to alcohol (Frankel et al., 1975) or to a modulation of alcohol intake (Myers and Martin, 1973; Myers and Melchior, 1975) before Peroutka and Snyder (1979) first suggested that there were at least two subtypes of 5-HT receptors. Since these early reports were written, there has been a wealth of studies which have continued to support a role for 5-HT in the regulation of alcohol intake (See McBride et al., 1993b; Sellers et al., 1992, for reviews). Simultaneously, a tremendous expansion in the number of known 5-HT receptor subtypes has occurred (See Peroutka, 1988). However, there have not been, to our knowledge, any papers which have examined the possible role of specific 5-HT receptor subtypes in the regulation of alcohol's central effects. The present review addresses this deficiency in the literature. This review will focus on three major areas: the pharmacological regulation of alcohol intake; differences in 5-HT receptor subtypes among alcohol-preferring and -nonpreferring rat strains; and alterations in 5-HT receptor subtypes following chronic exposure to alcohol.
authors.affiliation: Skipper Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine #7175, Chapel Hill 27599-7175, USA.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Overstreet
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Rezvani
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pucilowski
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Janowsky
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000378:metabolism; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D000431:Ethanol