PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Kuldip D. Dave AU - John A. Harvey AU - Vincent J. Aloyo TI - The Time-Course for Up- and Down-Regulation of the Cortical 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)<sub>2A</sub> Receptor Density Predicts 5-HT<sub>2A</sub> Receptor-Mediated Behavior in the Rabbit AID - 10.1124/jpet.107.121707 DP - 2007 Oct 01 TA - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics PG - 327--335 VI - 323 IP - 1 4099 - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/323/1/327.short 4100 - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/323/1/327.full SO - J Pharmacol Exp Ther2007 Oct 01; 323 AB - 5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin; 5-HT)2 receptor agonists such as (±)-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) injected systemically or directly into frontal cortex, elicit stereotyped head movements that are mediated by 5-HT2A receptors. Chronic administration of 5-HT2A receptor antagonists can produce either a down-regulation, e.g., d-2-bromolysergic acid diethylamide (BOL) or an up-regulation, e.g., α-phenyl-10(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinemethanol (MDL11,939) of cortical 5-HT2A receptors in the rabbit with no change in the density of the 5-HT2C receptor. We examined the degree to which the time course for the onset and offset of changes in cortical 5-HT2A receptor density was correlated with functional changes as measured by the magnitude of DOI elicited, 5-HT2A receptor-mediated head movements (head bobs). First, the magnitude of DOI-elicited head bobs was measured over 1 to 8 days after chronic BOL (5.8 μmol/kg), MDL11,939 (10 μmol/kg), or vehicle administration. Second, rabbits were injected with BOL, MDL11,939, or vehicle once daily for 8 days, and then, 1 to 8 days after the cessation of drug or vehicle, DOI-elicited head bobs were determined. Samples of frontal cortex were obtained for each animal immediately following behavioral testing, and 5-HT2A receptor density was measured using [3H]ketanserin. Thus, each animal provided a value for receptor density and number of head bobs, and these two measures showed a high degree of correlation between 0.94 for BOL and 0.95 for MDL11,939. This study establishes that the density of 5-HT2A receptors in cortex reflects their functional status. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics