Effects of 5-HT₆ receptor blockade on the neurochemical outcome of antidepressant treatment in the frontal cortex of the rat

Summary.

Using in vivo microdialysis in the freely moving rat we have examined the effects of 5-HT₆ receptor antagonism on the neurochemical outcome of antidepressant treatment. Acute administration of both desipramine (10 mg/kg s.c.) and venlafaxine (10 mg/kg s.c.) produced a 2 fold increase in extracellular noradrenaline (NA) but no change in frontal cortex dopamine (DaA), 5-HT or glutamate. Fluoxetine (20 mg/kg s.c.) produced no change in extracellular levels of any of the neurotransmitters examined. SB-271046 produced a 3 fold increase in extracellular glutamate. Combination treatment of SB-271046 with each antidepressant produced no change in the antidepressant-induced changes in NA, DA or 5-HT. In contrast, both fluoxetine and venlafaxine attenuated the SB-271046-induced increase in extracellular glutamate, suggesting that 5-HT and possibly NA may be having an inhibitory action on the excitatory pathways enhanced by 5-HT₆ receptor blockade. Furthermore, these data indicate that the neurochemical effects induced by NA and/or 5-HT reuptake inhibitors are not enhanced by 5-HT₆ receptor blockade indicating that 5-HT₆ receptor antagonists are unlikely to augment the therapeutic efficacy of these types of antidepressants.