The comparative roles of dopaminergic and serotonergic mechanisms in mediating quipazine induced increases in locomotor acitivity

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Abstract
The effect of dopaminergic and serotonergic agonists and antagonists on quipazine induced locomotor activity was investigated in rats. Though quipazine is generally considered to be a relatively pure serotonergic agonist, its effects on locomotor activity were inhibited by small doses of a centrally acting DA receptor blocking agent (haloperidol), while three different serotonergic (5-HT) antagonists were without effect on this behavior. Moreover, quipazine induced locomotor activity was markedly inhibited by the 5-HT substrate 5-hydroxytryptophan. The data suggest that quipazine induced locomotor activity primarily involves dopaminergic mechanisms, with 5-HT playing either no role in stimulating this behavior, or a subsidiary one, requiring intact central dopaminergic receptors for its expression.