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J Neurophysiol 92: 3532-3537, 2004. First published July 14, 2004; doi:10.1152/jn.00437.2004
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Serotonergic and Nonserotonergic Dorsal Raphe Neurons Are Pharmacologically and Electrophysiologically Heterogeneous

Silvia Marinelli1, Stephen A. Schnell2, Stephen P. Hack1, MacDonald J. Christie1, Martin W. Wessendorf2 and Christopher W. Vaughan1

1Pain Management Research Institute, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006 Australia; and 2Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Submitted 28 April 2004; accepted in final form 5 July 2004

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) projects serotonergic axons throughout the brain and is involved in a variety of physiological functions. However, it also includes a large population of cells that contain other neurotransmitters. To clarify the physiological and pharmacological differences between the serotonergic and nonserotonergic neurons of the DRN, their postsynaptic responses to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) and to selective activation of 5-HT1A or 5-HT2A/C receptors and their action potential characteristics were determined using in vitro patch-clamp recordings. The slices containing these neurons were then immunostained for tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), a marker of serotonergic neurons. It was found that subpopulations of both serotonergic and nonserotonergic neurons responded to 5-HT with outward (i.e., inhibitory) and inward (i.e., excitatory) currents, responded to both 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A/C receptor activation with outward and inward currents, respectively, and displayed overlapping action potential characteristics. These findings suggest that serotonergic and nonserotonergic neurons in the DRN are both heterogeneous with respect to their individual pharmacological and electrophysiological characteristics. The findings also suggest that the activity of the different populations of DRN neurons will display heterogeneous changes when the serotonergic tone in the DRN is altered by neurological disorders or by drug treatment.

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: C. W. Vaughan, Pain Management Research Institute, Northern Clinical School, Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia (E-mail: chrisv{at}med.usyd.edu.au).




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L. Zhang, K. T. Sykes, A. V. Buhler, and D. L. Hammond
Electrophysiological Heterogeneity of Spinally Projecting Serotonergic and Nonserotonergic Neurons in the Rostral Ventromedial Medulla
J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2006; 95(3): 1853 - 1863.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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