Abstract
This study investigated behavioural effects of very potent 5-HT reuptake inhibitors after acute treatment (cianopramine and citalopram), as well as after chronic treatment (cianopramine), in two behavioural models of anxiety: 1) the light/dark choice procedure in mice and 2) the elevated plus-maze test in rats. In addition, the responses of mice to novelty in a free exploration paradigm were assessed after acute administration of both drugs. A single injection of cianopramine or citalopram increased neophobic reactions in the free exploration test. Furthermore, these drugs increased the avoidance reaction to a brightly illuminated chamber in the light/dark choice procedure as well as to open arms in the elevated plus-maze test. In contrast, after chronic treatment (10 mg/kg IP, once daily for 21 days) of cianopramine, anxiogenic-like effects were no longer produced in the light/dark choice paradigm whereas in the elevated plus-maze test, anxiolytic-like effects appeared. These results shed more light on the 5-HT hypothesis of anxiety, insofar as the increased availability of 5-HT resulting here from reuptake inhibition seems to initially result in an increased emotional reactivity which, however, subsequently disappears during chronic treatment.
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Griebel, G., Moreau, JL., Jenck, F. et al. Acute and chronic treatment with 5-HT reuptake inhibitors differentially modulate emotional responses in anxiety models in rodents. Psychopharmacology 113, 463–470 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245224
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245224