The effect of 5‐HT(1A) receptor agonists on the entopeduncular nucleus is modified in 6‐hydroxydopamine‐lesioned rats

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: l‐DOPA prolonged treatment leads to disabling motor complications as dyskinesia that could be decreased by drugs acting on 5‐HT(1A) receptors. Since the internal segment of the globus pallidus, homologous to the entopeduncular nucleus in rodents, seems to be involved in the etiopathology of l‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia, we investigated whether the entopeduncular nucleus is modulated by the 5‐HT(1A) receptor partial and full agonists, buspirone, and 8‐hydroxy‐2‐(di‐n‐propylamino)‐tetralin (8‐OH‐DPAT) in control and 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA)‐lesioned rats with or without long‐term l‐DOPA treatment. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Extracellular single‐unit electrocorticogram and local field potential recordings under anaesthesia, immunostaining assays and optogenetic manipulation coupled to electrophysiological recordings were performed. KEY RESULTS: Systemic buspirone reduced the entopeduncular nucleus firing rate in the sham animals and burst activity in the 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats (with or without l‐DOPA treatment), while local administration reduced entopeduncular nucleus activity in all the groups, regardless of DA integrity. Systemic 8‐OH‐DPAT also induced inhibitory effects only in the sham animals. Effects triggered by buspirone and 8‐OH‐DPAT were reversed by the 5‐HT(1A) receptor antagonist, WAY‐100635. Neither buspirone nor 8‐OH‐DPAT modified the low‐frequency oscillatory activity in the entopeduncular nucleus or its synchronization with the motor cortex. Buspirone did not alter the response induced by subthalamic nucleus opto‐stimulation in the entopeduncular nucleus. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Systemic 5‐HT(1A) receptor activation elicits different effects on the electrophysiological properties of the entopeduncular nucleus depending on the integrity of the nigrostriatal pathway and it does not alter the relationship between subthalamic nucleus and entopeduncular nucleus neuron activity.