The role of the hippocampus and 5-HT/GABA interaction in the central effects of benzodiazepine receptor ligands

Summary.

The effects of an intrahippocampal administering of a non-selective full (midazolam), a partial benzodiazepine (BDZ) receptor agonist (bretazenil), and a BDZ₁ selective (zolpidem) receptor ligand were examined in the open field test (OFT) of neophobia and Vogel's test (VT) of conflict behavior in rats. Moreover, the influence of local injections of a non-competitive GABA_A receptor antagonist, picrotoxin, on the anxiolytic-like effect of serotonin (5-HT) depletion (p-chlorophenylalanine, p-CPA) in the Vogel test was studied. It was found that in the OFT only midazolam (0.1 μg/site) given to the hippocampus (HP) disinhibited rat exploratory behavior, whereas all the examined compounds inhibited animal motor activity when injected locally at 10.0 μg/site, the highest dose used in the tests. In the VT, again, only midazolam disinhibited rat conflict behavior on a dose-dependent basis. Picrotoxin administered to the HP produced a tendency to increase locomotor activity in rats, and significantly attenuated the anti-conflict action of serotonin depletion without changing the pain threshold and spontaneous drinking of the animals. p-CPA induced potent, dose-dependent and selective 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid decrease in the HP after administering the dose used in the behavioral experiment. Thus, the present data provide evidence for the lack of selective anxiolytic activity of a partial non-selective agonist and a full selective agonist at the BDZ₁ receptor after their administration to the HP. The model of intra-HP drug injections appeared effective in discriminating the anxiolytic spectrum of activity of new psychotropic compounds. Moreover, the obtained results indicate that the dorsal HP is one of the central sites important for GABA /5-HT interaction that modulates rat emotional behavior.