EFFECT OF SELECTIVE 5-HT1A AGONISTS AND 5-HT2 ANTAGONISTS ON INHERITED CATALEPSY IN RATS

The effects of the selective 5-HT1A agonists 8-OH-DPAT and flesinoxan and the selective 5-HT2 antagonists and ritanserin and ketanserin on i mmobility time in rats bred for predisposition to catalepsy have been studied. Treatment with 8-OH-DPAT as well as flesinoxan caused a marke d dose-dependent decrease in immobility time. Ritanserin and ketanseri n did not affect immobility time at any dose tested. It was suggested that 5HT(1A) rather than 5-HT2 serotonin receptors are involved in the catalepsy and that an hereditary predisposition to catalepsy may be t he result of an inherited alteration in 5-HT1A receptors.