Systemic injection of p-chloroamphetamine eliminates the effect of the 5-HT3 compounds on learning

There is evidence that 5-HT3 antagonists enhance learning and memory; however, their mechanisms of action are unknown. The aim of the present work was to investigate further the role of 5-HT3 receptors involved in learning, using the specific 5-HT3 agonist 1-(m-chlorophenyl)-biguanide (mCPBG) and the 5-HT3 antagonists ondansetron and tropisetron. p-Chloroamphetamine (PCA) pretreatment was used to determine whether pre- or postsynaptic 5-HT3 receptors are involved in learning. The posttraining intraperitoneal (IP) injection of each drug was analyzed on a lever-press response on autoshaping, which is an associative learning task. The results showed that mCPBG impaired retention of the conditioned response (CR), whereas tropisetron and ondansetron improved it. In other animals, PCA alone did not affect CR but was able to block the effects of the 5-HT3 ligands. The present data suggest that the actions of 5-HT3 compounds could be due to their interaction with presynaptic 5-HT3 receptors.