We investigated changes in the extracellular levels of acetylcholine (ACh) following local application of serotonergic agents to the dorsal hippocampus of freely moving rats by means of perfusion using a microdialysis technique. Perfusion of serotonin (5-HT; 10 microM, for 30 min at a rate of 3 microliters/min), dissolved in Ringer's solution containing 10 microM eserine, showed no marked effect on the extracellular levels of ACh. 8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 20 microM), a 5-HT1A agonist, increased ACh levels, whereas 7-trifluoromethyl-4-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl)-pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline (CGS-12066B; 100 microM), a 5-HT1B agonist, decreased it. Clomipramine (2 microM), an uptake inhibitor of 5-HT, had no effect on ACh levels. Following perfusion of 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4-[4-(2-phthalimido)butyl]piperazine (NAN-190; 10 microM), which is a selective 5-HT1A antagonist, the effect of 8-OH-DPAT was totally abolished, whereas CGS-12066B decreased extracellular ACh levels. 5-HT, as well as clomipramine, had a decreasing effect on ACh levels after pretreatment with NAN-190. These results indicate that the 5-HT1A receptor, which exists in the dorsal hippocampus, enhances the spontaneous ACh release, and that the mechanism of serotonergic modulation of ACh release partly depends on both the stimulatory control via the 5-HT1A receptor and the suppressive one via the 5-HT1B receptor in the dorsal hippocampus of rats.