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Effect of depletion of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine on ethanol tolerance and dependence in the rat

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Abstract

Brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was depleted in rats by intraventricular injection with 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) prior to feeding rats a liquid diet containing ethanol. After withdrawal of ethanol, withdrawal reactions were significantly less severe in 5-HT-depleted rats than control rats. Sleeping times after a standard dose of ethanol or pentobarbitone were significantly prolonged in 5-HT-depleted rats. However, metabolic and pharmacodynamic tolerance developed to a similar extent in 5-HT-depleted rats as in control rats. It was concluded that 5-hydroxytryptaminergic neurons are not directly involved in the development of physical dependence on or tolerance to ethanol. Depletion of brain 5-HT by 5,7-DHT appears to result in a non-specific central nervous system depression that potentiates the depressant actions of ethanol and pentobarbitone and antagonises the hyperexcitability of ethanol withdrawal.

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  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Jeanette M. Wood

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  1. Jeanette M. Wood
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Wood, J.M. Effect of depletion of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine on ethanol tolerance and dependence in the rat. Psychopharmacology 67, 67–72 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427597

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427597

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