title: In vivo modulation of the activity of pyramidal neurons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex by 5-HT2A receptors: relationship to thalamocortical afferents.
abstract: The activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by the hallucinogen DOI increases the firing activity of dorsal raphe (DR) 5-HT neurons and prefrontal 5-HT release. Here we show that the i.v. administration of DOI markedly affected the firing rate of identified pyramidal neurons recorded extracellularly. DOI excited (481%) 21/56 neurons, inhibited (11%) 17/56 neurons and left the rest unaffected (overall 2.4-fold increase in firing rate). Both effects were antagonized by 5-HT(2A) receptor blockade. 5-HT(2A)-mediated orthodromic excitations were recorded in pyramidal neurons projecting to DR after electrical stimulation of this nucleus. We also examined whether the effects of DOI in mPFC involve thalamic excitatory inputs. The disinhibition of the mediodorsal and centromedial nuclei of the thalamus by local bicuculline resembled the effects of DOI as it increased pyramidal cell firing and 5-HT release in mPFC. However, the selective activation of prefrontal micro -opioid and mGlu II receptors counteracted the effects of the thalamic disinhibition but not those of DOI. Moreover, extensive thalamic lesions did not alter the effect of DOI on pyramidal cell firing and 5-HT release. We conclude that DOI increases the activity of the mPFC-DR circuit by an action on postsynaptic 5-HT(2A) receptors unrelated to thalamocortical afferents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona (CSIC), IDIBAPS, 08036 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M Victoria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Puig
authors.forename: Pau
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Celada
authors.forename: Llorenç
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Díaz-Mataix
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Artigas
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007215:Indophenol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; C113896:dimethoxy-4-indophenyl-2-aminopropane; D007215:Indophenol