Hong_1989_Can.J.Physiol.Pharmacol_67_47

The inhibitory effect of serotonin, released iontophoretically, on acetylcholine-induced facilitation of population spikes evoked by fimbria-commissural stimulation was studied in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus in vivo. After serotonin was applied for 2.6 +/- 0.8 min, acetylcholine's action was inhibited in 39 cases out of 57 (68.4%), by 68.9 +/- 23.1%, irrespective of whether serotonin alone increased or reduced the population spike. Spiperone, used as a 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) antagonist, suppressed the inhibitory action of serotonin in 14 of 21 tests. Serotonin had similar effects on population spike facilitations induced by acetyl-beta-methylcholine and dimethylphenylpiperazinium. Thus serotonin, probably acting on 5-HT1A receptors, blocks effectively but indiscriminately all cholinergic facilitations, whether mediated by nicotinic or muscarinic receptors.