Objective To explore the correlation between 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)1A receptors and hippocampal dentate gyrus neurogenesis in pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats with depression.Methods Thirty-two rats with depression which were selected from pilocarpine-induced spontaneous temporal lobe epileptic rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=8 each): model, CBZ, CBZ+8-OH-DPAT low dose (0.1 mg/kg) and CBZ+8-OH-DPAT high dose (1.0 mg/kg).The rats receving an injection of normal saline were used as the control group.Neurogenesis in the brain tissue was determined with immunohistochemistry.Results The hippocampal dentate gyrus neurogenesis increased significantly in the model group compared with that in the control group (P<0.05).The CBZ and the CBZ+8-OH-DPAT low dose and high dose groups showed increased neurogenesis compared with the model group (P<0.05).More remarkably increased neurogenesis was found in the CBZ+8-OH-DPAT high dose group compared with the CBZ and the CBZ+8-OH-DPAT low dose groups (P<0.05).There were no significant differences in the neurogenesis between the CBZ+8-OH-DPAT low dose and the CBZ groups.Conclusions High doses of 8-OH-DPAT can increase neurogenesis in epileptic rats with depression.