To assess the pharmacodynamic profile of ALEPH-2, a phenylisopropylamine derivative with alleged anxiolytic and hallucinogenic properties, Xenopus laevis oocytes were microinjected with either of the rat cRNA for the 5-HT2A or the 5-HT2C receptor. Concentration-response curves were obtained following the exposure of the oocytes to varying concentrations of either ALEPH-2 or 5-hydroxytryptamine ...

BACKGROUND Treatment of negative symptoms in chronic schizophrenia continues to be a major clinical issue. AIMS To analyse the efficacy of add-on antidepressants for the treatment of negative symptoms of chronic schizophrenia. METHOD Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials comparing the effect of antidepressants and placebo on the negative symptoms of chronic sch...

The anorexic agent fenfluramine considerably increases the risk of primary pulmonary hypertension. The mechanism of this effect is unknown. The appetite-reducing action of fenfluramine is mediated by its interaction with the metabolism of serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] in the brain. We tested the hypothesis that the pulmonary vasoconstrictive action of fenfluramine is at least in part m...

The noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists dizocilpine and phencyclidine cause behavioral changes in animals that can be blocked by antipsychotic agents, implicating NMDA receptors in the expression of schizophrenic symptoms. In the present study, we examined the effects of dizocilpine (0.1-3.0 mg/kg s.c.) on locomotor activity and on the expression of c-fos and hsp-70 immediate...

The ability of serotonin to modulate GABA-mediated synaptic input to substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) neurons was investigated with the use of whole-cell patch-clamp recording from slices of rat midbrain. Fast evoked GABA(A) receptor-mediated synaptic currents (IPSCs) were attenuated reversibly approximately 60% by serotonin, which also caused an inward current with reversal potential of ...

Serotonin (5-HT) plays a major yet complex role in modulating spinal nociceptive transmission as a consequence of the number of 5-HT receptor subtypes. These include the 5-HT2 receptor, which is further sub classified into 5-HT2A, B and C. Studies have described both a pro- and antinociceptive action following 5-HT2A-receptor activation; therefore, to shed light on the directional nature of spi...

Chronic resistive airway loading (CAL) impairs growth in juvenile rats. The effects of CAL on epiphyseal growth plate (EGP) structure and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I gene expression have not been explored. Little is known about whether stimulants of endogenous growth hormone (GH) secretion can normalize this growth impairment. This study explored the effect of CAL on circulating and EGP ...

Discriminative stimulus effects of the serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonist 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM) have been studied in rats and, more recently, in rhesus monkeys. This study examined DOM, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-7), and dipropyltryptamine hydrochloride (DPT) alone and in combination with three antagonists, MDL100907 [(+/-)2,3-dimethoxyphen...