HTR2C and Anxiety: Nonetheless, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in rats found that agomelatine blocked the ‘BOLD’ response to a selective 5-HT2C agonist (RO-60,0175) in the mediodorsal thalamus as well as the cortex, ventral hippocampus and periaqueductal grey,112 key structures involved in the processing of fear and anxiety in animals and humans.6,35,113,114 These findings support a role for 5-HT2C receptors in the hippocampus in the anxiolytic actions of agomelatine.