[Role of central and peripheral serotoninergic mechanisms]

In male Wistar rats overheated by an infrared lamp, intraperitoneal serotonin administration led to a more rapid overheating than in control, the effect of serotonin being dose-dependent and reduced after i.p. administration of cyproheptadine. Stimulation of the brain serotonin receptors did not affect the development of hyperthermia, whereas the blockade of brain serotonin receptors by intraventricular injections of cyproheptadine or the depletion of brain serotonin by p-chlorophenylalanine resulted in significantly more obvious hyperthermia than in control.