J. Mos et al., THE EFFECTS OF DORSAL RAPHE ADMINISTRATION OF ELTOPRAZINE, TFMPP AND 8-OH-DPAT ON RESIDENT INTRUDER AGGRESSION IN THE RAT, European journal of pharmacology, 238(2-3), 1993, pp. 411-415
To evaluate the role of somatodendritic 5-HT1A receptors in the mediat
ion of aggressive behaviour, eltoprazine, TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethylp
henyl)piperazine hydrochloride) and 8-OH-DPAT (8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propy
lamino)tetralin) were administered locally into the dorsal raphe nucle
us of rats. 8-OH-DPAT (1 and 10 mug) and eltoprazine (10 and 30 mug) r
educed aggression, but concomitantly reduced social interest and incre
ased inactivity. TFMPP (1 and 10 mug) did not reduce aggression. As 8-
OH-DPAT and to a lesser extent eltoprazine affect 5-HT1A receptors, it
is proposed that a general reduction of serotonergic neurotransmissio
n by activation of somatodendritic serotonergic autoreceptor leads to
a non-specific reduction of aggression. As TFMPP has a significantly l
ower affinity for 5-HT1A receptors than 8-OH-DPAT or eltoprazine, the
lack of effect of TFMPP supports this view.