On the basis of systematic studies on the structure-activity relationships in arylpiperazine group of serotonin ligands, 12 new derivatives containing quinazolidin-4(3H)-one (1-4), 2-phenyl-2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione (5-8) or 1-phenyl-1,2-dihydropyridazine-3,6-dione (9-12) fragments were synthesized. The majority of the tested compounds (2, 4, 7, 8 and 10-12) showed a high affinity for 5-HT(1A) receptors (K(i)=11-54 nM) and two (1, 2) were found active at 5-HT(2A) sites (16 and 68 nM, respectively). All the new 5-HT(1A) ligands tested in vivo revealed an antagonistic activity at postsynaptic 5-HT(1A) receptors, and three of them behaved as agonists at presynaptic ones. Additionally, both the meta-chlorophenylpiperazine derivatives containing quinazolidin-4-one fragment showed features of 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonists. The dual 5-HT(1A)/5-HT(2A) receptor ligand (2) was further tested for its potential psychotropic activity. It showed a distinct anxiolytic-like activity in a conflict drinking test in rats and the observed effect was more potent in terms of the active dose, than that produced by diazepam (used as a reference drug).