Rg. Johnson et al., 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE(2) RECEPTORS MODULATE AUDITORY FILTERING IN THE RAT, The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 285(2), 1998, pp. 643-650
Sensory processing deficits are a hallmark of schizophrenia and can be
demonstrated by recording auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) elicited
in response to closely paired click stimuli. In nonschizophrenic human
s, as well as in rats, the amplitude of the response to the second cli
ck is reduced (filtered) compared with the first. In contrast, schizop
hrenics, or rats treated with amphetamine, generate AEPs that have sma
ller amplitudes and show little or no reduction in the response to the
second click. We sought to evaluate the role of 5-hydroxytryptamine(2
) 5-HT2 receptors in auditory filtering. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were
implanted with a skull screw electrode to permit chronic recording of
AEPs from a point approximating human vertex. During subsequent recor
ding sessions, pairs of clicks (a conditioning click followed by a tes
t click) were presented 500 msec apart. Parameters of N40, a dominant
midlatency component of the AEP, were examined to evaluate the effects
of a 5-HT2 receptor agonist, (+/-)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (D
OI), and a 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, ketanserin. Systemic administrat
ion of ketanserin reduced sensory filtering in a dose-dependent manner
. Conversely, DOI significantly improved filtering. In addition, DOI d
ose-dependently antagonized the disruption of filtering induced by adm
inistration of amphetamine (1.83 mg/kg i.p.). Taken together, these re
sults indicate an important role for 5-HT2 receptors in the modulation
of auditory filtering.