Loss of vision-guided adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex after depletion of brain serotonin in the rabbit

Brain serotonin in pigmented rabbits was depleted by intraventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT). Before depletion, an adaptive increase in the gain of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (HVOR) could be induced regularly by continuously rotating the animals in combination with optokinetic stimulus. After the depletion, such an increase in HVOR gain did not occur, even though dynamic characteristics of the HVOR and of the optokinetic eye movement were not altered. 5,7-DHT treatment also reduced brain norepinephrine, but depletion of norepinephrine to a similar extent by intraventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine in other rabbits did not affect the HVOR adaptation. These results suggest that brain serotonin plays an important role in maintaining adaptive modifiability of the HVOR.