Abstract-Inotropic and chronotropic effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) were investigated in twenty-five isolated canine atrial preparations and three isolated paced ventricular preparations which were suspended in the bath and perfused with arterial blood from the carotid artery of the heparinized support dog. 5-HT was administered into the cannulated sinus node artery in a dose range of I to 300 pig. In small doses of I to 3 pig, 5-HT induced a negative chronotropic and inotropic response.At relatively higher doses over 10 ptg, 5-HT induced a biphasic response: a slight negative chrono tropic and inotropic response, followed by a long-lasting positive response. With large doses, only a positive chronotropic and inotropic response was induced in the majority of cases. Even in the ventricular preparations, 5-HT produced a similar response pattern in inotropism.5-HT-induced positive chronotropic and inotropic responses were completely inhibited by pretreatment with an adrenergic beta-blocking agent, propranolol, or a non-depressant beta-blocking agent, carteolol, and desipra mine, but were not influenced by tetrodotoxin treatment. After the treatment with carteolol or despramine, 5-HT-induced negative responses were potentiated.5-HT induced negative chronotropic and inotropic responses were not inhibited by methy sergide and atropine.From these results, it is suggested that 5-HT induces a direct negative chronotropic and inotropic response and an indirect positive response via its tyramine-like action.5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) has positive inotropic and chronotropic effects of varying degrees on isolated hearts, atria and isolated papillary muscles of various species (1, 2). In 1964, James (3) reported that 5-HT had only a negative chronotropic effect on the canine sino-atrial (SA) node in vivo, in contrast to its reported acceleratory action in isolated heart preparations. In 1967, Buccino et al. (4) studied effects of 5-HT in cut pa pillary muscles and canine right-heart-bypass preparations with bilateral carotid sinus and vagal nerve resection. They reported that 5-HT increased the average peak tension of cat papillary muscles or dog left ventricles and concluded that 5-HT has a direct positive inotropic effect on mammalian myocardium. Such a postulation was based on the findings that the augmentation in either rate of tension developed or peak isometric tension produced by 5-HT was not accompanied by changes in time to peak tension, differing from actions of norepinephrine (5, 6). However, they did not use pharmacological drugs for the analysis of effects of 5-HT. In 1971, Fillion et al. (7) reported that when using biochemical assay techniques, release of norepinephrine from the dog heart in situ occurred after intravenous and intracoronary administration of 5-HT.In the present study, effects of 5-HT on pacemaker activity and contractility were in