Inhibition of neurons in the amygdala by dorsal raphe stimulation: Mediation through a direct serotonergic pathway

This study presents data showing that the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has a marked inhibitory influence upon neurons in the amygdala and that this inhibitory effect is mediated by a direct DRN-amygdala serotonergic pathway. The evidence may be briefly summarized as follows: (1) on the same amygdaloid cells, both iontophoresis of serotonin (5-HT) and electrical stimulation of the DRN markedly inhibited spontaneous single unit activities; (2) the latency of DRN-induced inhibition was relatively short and is compatible with the conduction velocities (which were determined by antidromic activation of the 5-HT pathway) of unmyelinated 5-HT fibers; (3) destruction of 5-HT projections by 5, 7-dihydroxytryptamine (5, 7-DHT) or pharmacological depletion of 5-HT by parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) prevented the inhibitory responses to DRN stimulation in the great majority of cells studied; (4) in PCPA-pretreated animals, injection of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) reversed the PCPA effect, restoring the responses of amygdaloid cells to DRN stimulation. In the amygdala, the presumptive 5-HT antagonists which we tested did not block the inhibitory effects of 5-HT except that intravenously administered LSD blocked the inhibitory responses produced by submaximal DRN stimulation. The implications of these results for the possible functions of 5-HT in the amygdala is discussed.