The Abilities of 5–HT3 Antagonists to Inhibit the Hyperreactmty Caused by Dopamine Infusion into the Nucleus Accumbens of the Rat

The selective 5–HT₃ receptor antagonist, GR38032F, has been shown to inhibit the hyperactivity caused by dopamine infused persistently into the rat mesolimbic nucleus accumbens (Costall et al., 1987). Since such an inhibition is only effected by neuroleptic agents and by lithium, it was suggested that GR38032F may represent the first of a new class of antipsychotic agents. In the present studies we extend this observation to two further selective S–HT₃ receptor antagonists, ICS 205–930 and BRL 43694 (Richardson et al., 1985; Fake et al., 1987).