A role for 5-hydroxytryptamine in the GABA-mimetic potentiation of alpha-flupenthixol-induced catalepsy in the rat.

1 alpha-Flupenthixol (alpha-FPT)-induced catalepsy in the rat was potentiated by diaminobutyric acid (DABA), an inhibitor of the neuronal high affinity uptake of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). 2 The depletion of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) with p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) abolished the DABA potentiation of alpha-FPT-induced catalepsy; this response was restored with 5-hydroxytryptophan. 3 Potentiation of alpha-FPT-induced catalepsy by clonazepam was significantly reduced by methysergide. Conversely, the potentiation of catalepsy by clomipramine was significantly reduced by picrotoxin. 4 These results are interpreted as evidence supporting a role for 5-HT in modifying the GABA-ergic inhibition of dopaminergic pathways, possibly by regulating the release of GABA.