Effect of selective 5-HT1A agonists and 5-HT2 antagonists on inherited catalepsy in rats.

The effects of the selective 5-HT1A agonists 8-OH-DPAT and flesinoxan and the selective 5-HT2 antagonists ritanserin and ketanserin on immobility time in rats bred for predisposition to catalepsy have been studied. Treatment with 8-OH-DPAT as well as flesinoxan caused a marked dose-dependent decrease in immobility time. Ritanserin and ketanserin did not affect immobility time at any dose tested. It was suggested that 5HT1A rather than 5-HT2 serotonin receptors are involved in the catalepsy and that an hereditary predisposition to catalepsy may be the result of an inherited alteration in 5-HT1A receptors.