The role of 5HT1A receptors in the modulation of the acoustic startle reflex in rats.

The modulatory role of serotonin (5-HT) on the acoustic startle reflex was studied using 5-HT receptor agonists and antagonists. 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OHDPAT) (1,2 and 4 mg/kg, SC) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) (1,2 and 4 mg/kg, IP), putative 5-HT1a receptor agonists, increased the magnitude of the startle reflex, while quipazine (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, SC), an agonist with mixed 5-HT2 and 5-HT1b receptor activity, decreased startle responsiveness. Pretreatment of rats with ketanserin (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg, SC), a 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, had no significant effect on the activity of 8-OHDPAT, 5-MeODMT, or quipazine. Metergoline (0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg, SC), a mixed 5-HT1/5-HT2 receptor antagonist attenuated the augmentation of the reflex by 8-OHDPAT and 5-MeODMT and the suppression produced by quipazine. At the doses used, metergoline produced a non-dose-dependent increase in startle, while ketanserin had no effect. None of the agents specifically affected the ability of a prepulse stimulus to inhibit the acoustic startle response. These data suggest that 5-HT1a and 5-HT1b receptors play opposite roles in the modulation of the acoustic startle response and that 5-HT plays little, if any, role in the prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response.