Raphe neurons: firing rate correlates with size of drug response.
European journal of pharmacology – June 03, 1983
Source: PubMed
Summary
Higher spontaneous discharge rates in serotonergic neurons are linked to weaker responses to hallucinogenic drugs like 5-MeODMT and LSD. In a study involving unanesthetized cats, significant negative correlations were observed in key brain areas, including the dorsal raphe nucleus. Specifically, as the discharge rate increased, the response magnitude to these drugs decreased. This suggests that autoreceptor density may play a crucial role in regulating neuron activity and responsiveness to serotonin agonists, highlighting a complex interaction within the brain's serotonin system.
Abstract
Significant negative correlations were obtained between the spontaneous discharge rate during waking and the neural response to systemic injections of either 5-MeODMT or LSD for serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus, nucleus centralis superior, and nucleus raphe pallidus of unanesthetized and unrestrained cats. These data are discussed in terms of an hypothesis which accounts for both the rate of spontaneous activity of serotonergic neurons and the magnitude of their response to serotonin agonist drugs in terms of autoreceptor density on individual neurons.