The Role of 5-HT1A Receptors in Long-Term Adaptation of Newborn Rats to Hypoxia

We studied the effects of neonatal hypoxia on adaptive behavior of rats during prepubertal and pubertal periods in the control and after repeated injections of 5-HT1A receptor agonist buspirone. Hypoxia enhanced the inflammatory nociceptive response and exacerbated the depressive-like behavior. Repeated injections of buspirone starting from the neonatal period produced a long-term normalizing effect on the inflammatory nociceptive response and psychoemotional behavior disturbed by hypoxia. The protective effect of buspirone can result from strengthening of the adaptive potencies of the serotoninergic system via activation of 5-HT1A receptors that up-regulate secretion of trophic factor S100 beta under conditions of serotonin deficiency typical of rats exposed to neonatal hypoxia. Buspirone promotes recovery of the afferent and efferent connections of the raphe nuclei with the prefrontal cortex and spinal cord involved in integration of the anti-nociceptive and psychoemotional systems.