5-HT(1A) receptors in the frontal cortical brain areas in Cloninger type 1 and 2 alcoholics measured by whole-hemisphere autoradiography.
OBJECTIVE
The Cloninger type 1 alcoholics are prone to anxiety, and in many cases patients have begun to use alcohol in order to relieve their anxiety. We have previously reported a decrease of the serotonin transporter density in the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) in type 1 alcoholics. The 5-HT(1A) receptors are the binding sites for anxiolytic drug buspirone. We aimed to investigate the alteration in the density of 5-HT(1A) receptors, that may also alter the effect of serotonin in the pACC in alcoholics.


METHODS
The density of the serotonin receptor 5-HT(1A) among Cloninger type 1 and 2 alcoholics (nine and eight subjects, respectively) and 10 control subjects were determined by postmortem whole-hemisphere autoradiography with WAY-100635.


RESULTS
Substantially sparser 5-HT(1A) (by -31%, P = 0.010) density was observed in the pACC of alcoholic subjects in relation to non-alcoholic comparison subjects. In a secondary analysis for the difference between the alcoholic subtypes and controls, the 5-HT(1A) density was decreased significantly by -32% (P = 0.015) in the upper level of pACC in type 1 alcoholics.


CONCLUSIONS
The detected decrease of 5-HT(1A) receptor density on the pACC suggests further that the serotoninergic system is defected in the so-called affect region, especially in the type 1 alcoholics.
Storvik
Markus
M
Department of Biosciences, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. markus.storvik@uku.fi
Häkkinen
Merja
M
Tupala
Erkki
E
Tiihonen
Jari
J
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D001345:Autoradiography; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D002065:Buspirone / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010879:Piperazines; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D011725:Pyridines; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / Q000378:metabolism*; D058825:Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists; D058829:Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Antagonists; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000378:metabolism
D010879:Piperazines; D011725:Pyridines; D058825:Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists; D058829:Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Antagonists; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D044282:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A; C090413:N-(2-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl)ethyl)-N-(2-pyridinyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide; D002065:Buspirone