EFFECTS OF 21 DAYS TREATMENT WITH FLUOXETINE ON STIMULATED ENDOGENOUS 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE OVERFLOW IN THE RAT DORSAL RAPHE AND SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS STUDIED USING FAST CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRY IN-VITRO

Changes in the extracellular concentration of 5-HT evoked by electrical stimulation of brain slices containing either dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) or suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) from rats treated for 21 days with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg; i.p.) or water were monitored using fast cyclic voltammetry (FCV). Stimulated 5-HT overflow was enhanced significantly in both brain regions after 21 days treatment with fluoxetine but there was no change in the half time for re-uptake (t1/2). Concentration response curves for inhibition of electrically stimulated 5-HT overflow by 8-OH-DPAT (5-HT1a receptor agonist) or RU24969 (5-HT1b receptor agonist) in the DRN or SCN respectively were obtained in slices prepared from both groups of animals. There was a significant shift to the right in the dose-response curve for RU24969 in the SCN in fluoxetine treated animals but a shift to the left for the dose-response curve for 8-OH-DPAT in the DRN. These data suggest that down regulation of the 5-HT1b autoreceptors occurs in an axon terminal region (SCN) but that there is a sensitisation of 5-HT1a autoreceptor mechanisms controlling 5-HT overflow in the DRN.