Region- and phase-dependent effects of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2C receptor activation on adult neurogenesis

Adult neurogenesis and serotoninergic transmission are associated to mood disorders and their treatments. The present study focused on the effects of chronic activation of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2C receptors on newborn cell survival in the dentate gyrus (DG) and olfactory bulb (OB), and examined whether potential neurogenic zones as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum (ST) are reactive to these treatments. Administration of 8-OH-DPAT, but not RO600,175 increases neurogenesis and survival of late differentiating cells (15–21 days) in the DG. Both 8-OH-DPAT and RO600,175 increase neurogenesis in the OB, but only 8-OH-DPAT affected cell survival, inducing a parallel decrease in the number of BrdU cells in the OB and increase in the SVZ, which suggests an impaired migration. In the PFC and ST, 8-OH-DPAT and R0600,175 increase gliogenesis (NG2-labeled cells). This study provides new insights on the serotonergic regulation of critical phases of neurogenesis helpful to understand the neurogenic and gliogenic effects of antidepressant treatments in different brain regions.