5,7-dihydroxytryptamine lesion does not affect ethanol-induced conditioned taste and place aversion in rats

The effect of the lesion of central serotonergic neurons by 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), on ethanol-induced taste and place aversion conditioning was studied in male Wistar rats. Control biochemical analysis revealed that 5,7-DHT (250 micrograms per rat, free base, i.c.v.) produced marked and selective depletion of serotonin (5-HT) in the hippocampal formation and the limbic forebrain complex. Ethanol-induced (1.5 g/kg, i.p.) conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to saccharin solution was unaffected by the lesion of central serotonergic neurons. The 5,7-DHT-lesioned and sham-lesioned rats showed comparable ethanol-induced CTA even 30 days after the last ethanol injection. Similarly, ethanol-induced (1.5 g/kg, i.p.) conditioned place aversion (CPA) was unaffected by 5,7-DHT administration. These results suggest that central serotonergic pathways are not primarily involved in the aversive effects of high ethanol doses in rats.