Abstract: In the present study, extracellular recording was used to examine the neuronal activity of the basolateral nucleus (BL) of theamygdala and the effects of systemic administration of the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 on the neuronal activityin the normal rats and rats with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-produced lesions in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), Theresults showed that the firing rates of BL projection neurons and intemeurons were (0.39±0.04) Hz and (0.83±0.16) Hz in the normalrats, and (0.32±0.04) Hz and (0.53±0.12) Hz in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. There was no significant difference in the firing rates of BLprojection neurons and interneurons between the normal and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. In the normal rats, all BL projection neurons firedin burst; 94% of BL interneurons fired in burst and 6% fired irregularly. In 6-OHDA-lesioned rats, 85% of BL projection neurons displayed a burst fLdng pattern and 15% fired irregularly; 86% of BL intemeurons had a burst firing pattern and 14% fired irregularly.The distribution of firing patterns of projection neurons and interneurons in the BL in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats did not differ from thatin the normal rats. Systemic administration of WAY-100635 at 0.1 mg/kg body weight did not change the mean firing rates of projectionneurons and interneurons in the BL in both normal and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats, However, a higher dose of WAY-100635 at 0.5 mg/kgbody weight significantly decreased the mean firing rate of BL projection neurons from (0.43±0.07) to (0.15±0.02) Hz in the normalrats (P<0.01), but significantly increased the activity of BL projection neurons in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats from (0.37±0.08) to (0.69±0.18) Hz (P<0.004). The mean firing rates of BL interneurons in the normal and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats did not change after adminis-tration of a higher dose of WAY-100635 at 0.5 mg/kg body weight. These results demonstrate that the activity of BL neurons aftersubstantia nigra dopaminergic lesion in the SNc is regulated by activation of intrinsic and extrinsic inputs, and that 5-HT1A receptorssignificantly contribute to the regulation of the activity of BL projection neurons in both normal and 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Furthermore,WAY-100635 induced an increase in the mean firing rate of projection neurons in the BL in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats, suggesting that5-HT1A receptor is likely to play a role in generating affective symptoms in Parkinson's disease.