Evidence against the involvement of serotonergic mechanisms in wet dog shake behavior induced by carbachol chloride in rats.

The intracerebroventricular administration of carbachol chloride induced a characteristic wet dog shake response in rats. Neither 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine, a serotonergic depletor, nor DL-p-chlorophenylalanine, an inhibitor of 5-HT synthesis, affected wet dog shakes induced by carbachol. Putative antiserotonergic drugs such as cyproheptadine, danitracen and pizotifen antagonized carbachol-induced wet dog shakes, but the 5-HT-receptor antagonist methergoline did not significantly affect the response. These results indicated that carbachol-induced wet dog shakes in rats are probably not related to increased activity of central serotonergic mechanisms. Additionally, the present experiments showed that the anticholinergic properties of the potent serotonergic blockers cyproheptadine, danitracen and pizotifen must be taken into account, and these drugs should be used with care as relatively selective pharmacological tools.