5-HT1A receptors mediate inhibition of ethanol-induced ascorbic acid release in rat striatum studied by microdialysis.

Our previous study showed that the serotonergic system was involved in the ethanol-induced striatal ascorbic acid release in rat. In the present study, the 5-HT1A agonists and antagonists were used to analyze the possible mechanism of ethanol-induced ascorbic acid release in rat striatum. The results showed that ethanol (3.0 g/kg, i.p.) significantly increased striatal ascorbic acid release. Buspirone (5.0 mg/kg, s.c.), a partial agonist of 5-HT1A receptors, and 8-OH-DPAT (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.), a selective agonist of 5-HT1A receptors, showed no effect on basal ascorbic acid release in striatum, but both drugs significantly antagonized the ascorbic acid release induced by ethanol in striatum. WAY 100635 (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.), a selective antagonist of 5-HT1A receptors, affecting neither the basal nor the ethanol-induced ascorbic acid release per se, antagonized the suppressing effect of 8-OH-DPAT on ethanol-induced ascorbic acid release in striatum. This study gives the first evidence that activation of 5-HT1A receptors is involved in ethanol-induced ascorbic acid release in rat striatum.