The present studies investigate the possible difference in 5-HT3 receptor recognition site density in amygdaloid and hippocampal homogenates from patients with Alzheimer's disease compared with age-matched controls. The 5-HT3 receptor recognition site radioligand [3H]-(S)-zacopride identified a comparable density of specific sites (defined by granisetron 10.0 microM) in tissues obtained from patients with Alzheimer's disease as compared to age-matched controls (amygdala, Bmax 41 +/- 4 and 43 +/- 9; hippocampus, Bmax 59 +/- 9 and 51 +/- 9 fmol mg-3 protein; tissue from Alzheimer's disease patients and age-matched controls, respectively, mean +/- s.e.m., n = 7-8). These results suggest that the density of 5-HT3 receptor recognition sites labelled by [3H]-(S)-zacopride are not altered in the amygdala and hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer's disease.