Somatostatin facilitates the serotonin release from rat cerebral cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus slices.

The effect of somatostatin on the release of serotonin (5-HT) from the superfused slices of rat cerebral cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus preloaded with [3H]5-HT was examined. Somatostatin (0.38--1.53 microM) was found to facilitate dose-dependently the electrically- or high K+-stimulated release of [3H]5-HT. The order of the stimulatory potency of somatostatin on the evoked release in the 3 areas of the brain was cortex, hippocampus greater than hypothalamus.