The interoceptive discriminative stimuli induced by the novel putative anxiolytic TVX Q 7821: behavioral evidence for the specific involvement of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors.

TVX Q 7821 is active in several behavioral models of anxiety in animals and has a high selective affinity for brain serotonin 5-HT1A receptors in binding assays. In order to determine if interaction with 5-HT1A receptors is important for some of the behavioral effects of this compound, 11 rats were trained to reliably discriminate the interoceptive stimuli induced by TVX Q 7821 (10 mg/kg, IP) from those of saline. Following discrimination acquisition, TVX Q 7821 administration resulted in drug-appropriate responding with an ED50 of 1.5 mg/kg, as did other substances with high affinity for the 5-HT1A receptor: 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT, ED50 = 0.16 mg/kg), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-OMe-DMT, ED50 = 2.5 mg/kg), and buspirone (ED50 = 5.4 mg/kg). Anxiolytics not acting via the 5-HT1A receptor, like diazepam and pentobarbital, did not induce full TVX Q 7821-appropriate responses. In addition, non-selective 5-HT agonists and antagonists such as bufotenin, quipazine, and methysergide, as well as substances with high affinity for the 5-HT1B receptor (m-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine, TFMPP; 5-methoxy-3(1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)-1H-indole succinate, RU 24969) did not substitute for TVX Q 7821. These data support a selective 5-HT1A mechanism of action in vivo for TVX Q 7821 and indicate the suitability of TVX Q 7821 for the investigation of behavioral correlates of the 5-HT1A receptor.