Abstract
The effects of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that selectively inhibit the MAO-A or MAO-B forms of MAO were studied in rats performing under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s (DRL 72-s) schedule of reinforcement. Clorgyline and CGP11′305A, irreversible and reversible MAO-A inhibitors, respectively, increased the reinforcement rate, decreased the response rate, and enhanced temporal discrimination. The irreversible MAO-B inhibitor (−)-deprenyl did not produce similar effects. Pargyline did not increase the reinforcement rate at low doses that selectively inhibit MAO-B, but did increase the reinforcement rate at doses that inhibit MAO-A by more than 90%. The present results are in accord with clinical data demonstrating that MAO-A inhibitors are effective therapeutic agents in treating depression while MAO-B inhibitors are of questionable antidepressant efficacy. The present findings provide further evidence that the DRL 72-s schedule may be useful both as a screen for identifying new antidepressants and for investigating the neurochemical effects of antidepressant drugs that are responsible for their therapeutic effects.
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Marek, G.J., Seiden, L.S. Selective inhibition of MAO-A, not MAO-B, results in antidepressant-like effects on DRL 72-s behavior. Psychopharmacology 96, 153–160 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00177554
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00177554