Serotonin exerts both excitatory and inhibitory influences on motor impulsivity via 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors in both rats and mice.

Previously, we have shown that systemic administration of the 5-HT 2C receptor agonist Ro60-0175 reduces cocaine-induced locomotor activity and cocaine self-administration. Ro60-0175 also alters the activity of midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a region where 5-HT 2C receptors are expressed. The present experiments investigated whether microinjections of Ro60-0175 into the VTA would alter the locomotor stimulant effect of cocaine and cocaine self-administration. In the tests for locomotor activity injection of 3 and 10, but not 1 mg, Ro60-0175 into the VTA reduced the locomotor stimulation resulting from injection of 10 mg/ kg cocaine. In tests of cocaine self-administration, rats were trained to lever press for intravenous infusions of 0.25 mg cocaine delivered on either a fixed ratio 5 (FR5) or a progressive ratio schedule. Intra-VTA injection of Ro60-0175 at doses of 3 and 10 mg reduced responding for cocaine on both schedules without significantly altering the latency to initiate responding or the rate of responding. A subsequent experiment determined that the suppressant effect of intra-VTA Ro60-0175 (3 mg) on responding for cocaine was prevented by pretreatment with the selective 5-HT 2C receptor antagonist SB242,084 (0.5 mg/kg). In a final experiment, intra-VTA injection of Ro60-0175 reduced responding for food reinforcement on the same progressive ratio schedule as used for cocaine selfadministration. These results demonstrate that stimulation of 5-HT 2C receptors in the VTA is sufficient to attenuate the stimulant and reinforcing effects of cocaine. These effects complement electrophysiological and neurochemical findings, and indicate that 5-HT 2C receptors localized within the VTA modulate the activity of mesolimbic DA neurons.

Previously, we showed that the 5-HT 2C receptor agonist Ro60-0175 reduces cocaine self-administration, and the ability of cocaine to reinstate responding after extinction of drug-seeking behavior. The present experiments extended these findings further by determining whether the effects of Ro60-0175 on self-administration were sustained with repeated treatment, and whether Ro60-0175 altered reinstatement induced by the pharmacological stressor yohimbine, or by the context in which self-administration occurred. In Experiment 1, Ro60-0175 (1 mg/kg, s.c.) reduced cocaine (0.25 mg/infusion) self-administration maintained by a progressive ratio schedule. This reduction was sustained over eight daily injections. In Experiment 2, rats self-administered cocaine in daily 2 h sessions for 15 days on a FR1 schedule. Following extinction, yohimbine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) reinstated responding, and this effect was reduced dose dependently by Ro60-0175 (0.3-3 mg/kg, s.c.). In Experiment 3, rats were trained to respond for cocaine on a FR1 schedule in a distinct environmental context (A); responding was then extinguished in a different context (B). Reinstatement tests occurred in either context A or B.Responding was reinstated only when rats were tested in the original self-administration context (A). This reinstatement was reduced dose dependently by Ro60-0175. All effects of Ro60-0175 were blocked by the 5-HT 2C receptor antagonist SB242084. Thus, Ro60-0175, acting via 5-HT 2C receptors, reduces cocaine self-administration and cocaine-seeking triggered by a stressor and by drug-associated cues. The effects of Ro60-0175 do not exhibit tolerance within the 8-day test period. These results indicate that selective 5-HT 2C receptor agonists may be a useful pharmacological strategy for treatment of drug abuse.

SB242084 potentiated the locomotor stimulant effects of both indirect DA and 5-HT agonists. This potentiation may reflect two distinct mechanisms. The first involves direct enhancement of DA activity as shown by potentiation of the effects of amphetamine and methylphenidate. The second mechanism reflects an unmasking of stimulatory 5-HT receptors activated by 5-HT releasers (possibly 5-HT(1B/2A)) through blockade of inhibitory 5-HT(2C) receptors. The failure of SB242084 to potentiate the effect of citalopram might reflect differences between changes in synaptic levels of 5-HT produced by release compared to reuptake inhibition.

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