Serotonergic mediation of spinal analgesia and its interaction with noradrenergic systems

Serotonin was administered intrathecally onto cat spinal cords to evaluate the pharmacology by which it suppresses noxiously evoked activity of wide-dynamic-range (WDR) neurons in the spinal dorsal horn. Doses of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 micrograms serotonin produced significant suppression of the mean noxiously evoked activity of WDR neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (21, 44, and 69% at 30 min, respectively). The dose-dependent effects were partially reversed by the intravenous administration of the serotonin antagonist methysergide (1 or 2 mg). Intravenous administration of the alpha 2-adrenergic antagonist yohimbine (0.5 or 1.0 mg/kg) produced a significant antagonism of the effects of serotonin. In contrast to the effects of methysergide and yohimbine, intravenous administration of naloxone or the alpha 1-antagonist corynanthine had no effect upon the suppressive effects of serotonin. The combination of low-dose serotonin and low-dose clonidine produced a supraadditive effect (30% at 30 min). These data support the concept that noradrenergic systems, possibly through an alpha 2-adrenergic mechanism, are involved in the modulation of spinal WDR neurons by serotonin.