The serotonin 5-HT1A receptor system is implicated in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) (Stockmeier, 2003) and serotonergic medications are currently widely used in the treatment of MDD. Previous molecular imaging studies in patients with MDD have provided evidence of a widespread decrease in the density of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors in the disease (Drevets et al. 1999; Sar...

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) has been proved to improve cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and to enhance functional outcomes of classical rehabilitation. However, CRT outcomes are heterogeneous and predictors of response are still unknown. Genetic variability, especially in the dopaminergic system, has been hypothesized to affect CRT. We previously reported that rs4680 of the catechol-...

Numerous lines of research indicate that attentional processes, working memory and saccadic processes are highly interrelated. In the current study, we examine the relation between these processes with respect to their cognitive-neurophysiological and neurobiological background by means of event-related potentials (ERPs) in a sample of N=72 healthy probands characterized for the functional sero...

A major problem with current anti-depressant therapy is that it takes on average 6-7 weeks for remission. Since desensitization of serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor signaling contributes to the anti-depressive response, acceleration of the desensitization may reduce this delay in response to antidepressants. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that estradiol accelerates fluoxe...

The serotonin 5-HT1A receptor system is implicated in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) (Stockmeier, 2003) and serotonergic medications are currently widely used in the treatment of MDD. Previous molecular imaging studies in patients with MDD have provided evidence of a widespread decrease in the density of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors in the disease (Drevets et al. 1999; Sar...

The serotonin1A (5-HT1A) receptors are members of a superfamily of seven transmembrane domain receptors that couple to G-proteins. They appear to be involved in various behavioural and cognitive functions. This paper reports an efficient strategy to solubilize 5-HT1A receptors from bovine hippocampal membranes using the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS which is mild and non-denaturing. Since high c...

The serotonin 5-HT1A receptor system is implicated in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) (Stockmeier, 2003) and serotonergic medications are currently widely used in the treatment of MDD. Previous molecular imaging studies in patients with MDD have provided evidence of a widespread decrease in the density of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors in the disease (Drevets et al. 1999; Sar...

The present study examines the effects of serotonin (5-HT) 1A receptor ligands on humoral immune response in two rat lines selected for over 75 generations for the enhancement or elimination of aggression. Activation of presynaptic 5-HT1A receptors with a low dose of the selective 5HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) or the blockade of postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors with the antagonist W...

The anteriorlateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST AL) and the serotonergic system are believed to modulate behavioral responses to stressful and/or anxiogenic stimuli. However, although the BNST AL receives heavy serotonergic innervation, the functional significance of this input is not known. Data obtained from in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recording in the rat BNST slice show th...

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is involved in mammalian thermoregulation of the preoptic anterior hypothalamus (PO/AH), but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the influence of 5-HT and agonists and antagonists of the 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, 5-HT3 and 5-HT7 receptors on voltage-gated calcium currents in the PO/AH slice with the whole-cell patch clamp...