Salmon calcitonin induced head twitch in the rat.

The intracerebroventricular administration of salmon calcitonin (sCT) to rats induced a dose-dependent increase in the number of head twitches and potentiated such a response elicited by L-5-hydroxytryptophan (L-5-HTP). Subcutaneously administered sCT was ineffective "per se" but could again potentiate the head twitch response elicited by L-5-HTP. Since these data suggest a stimulation of the brain serotonergic pathways, the obtained results support the hypothesis that some central actions of sCT may involve activation of serotonergic systems in the rat brain.