Proportion (%) of 5-HT1A autoreceptor labeling associated with the plasma membrane of somata and dendrites in the NRD, as quantified by counts of silver-intensified immunogold particles in electron micrographs of tissue fixed 1 hr after treatment with 5-HT1A agonist and/or antagonist
| Somata | Dendrites | |
|---|---|---|
| Control (n = 8) | 67 ± 2 | 86 ± 1 |
| 8-OH-DPAT (n = 6) | 44 ± 2* | 53 ± 1* |
| WAY 100635 + 8-OH-DPAT (n = 5) | 69 ± 2 | 89 ± 3 |
| WAY 100635 (n = 3) | 68 ± 1 | 88 ± 3 |
Means (± SEM) from three to eight rats (n) per group. Treatments as described in Materials and Methods. The membrane compartment was defined by attributing a thickness of 30 nm (average diameter of the silver-intensified immunogold particles) to the membrane of labeled somata (perikarya) and dendrites. The results were tabulated as actual number of particles in the membrane, as opposed to the cytoplasmic compartment (details in Materials and Methods), and then expressed as percentage of total number (membrane + cytoplasm). In all groups, the membrane compartment represented 3–4% of the total area examined for somata and 6–7% for dendrites.
↵* p < 0.001 by two-way ANOVA followed by Student's t test.