An investigation of the structure-affinity relationships for the binding of 4-(N, N-dimethylaminomethyl)-N-9-arylsulfonyl-9H-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazoles (conformationally-constrained analogues of the benzenesulfonyltryptamine 5-HT6 antagonist MS245) at human 5-HT6 receptors revealed that various arylsulfonyl substituents are tolerated and that the 4- (N, N-dimethyl aminomethyl) group is not required for binding. In particular, N-9-(4-aminobenzenesulfonyl)-9H-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazole (20, K-i = 29 nM) was found to bind with high affinity and represents the first member of a new structural class of agents with 5-HT6 antagonist properties (pA(2) = 7.0; cAMP hydrolysis assay). (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.