Reduction of Submissive Behavior in Rats: A Test for Antidepressant Drug Activity

Autor: Ewa Malatynska, Richard J. Knapp, Rachel Goldenberg, Paula Zamecki, Arif Haque, Glenda Crites, Lucy Shuck, Nancy L. Schindler
Rok vydání: 2001
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pharmacology. 64:8-17
ISSN: 1423-0313
0031-7012
DOI: 10.1159/000056145
Popis: Randomly paired rats were food deprived overnight and placed in an apparatus compelling them to compete for a food reward. About half of these pairs developed a dominant-submissive relationship measured as a significant difference in time spent on the feeder by each rat. This relationship developed over a 2-week period and remained stable for at least the next 5 weeks. Treatment of the submissive subjects, for at least 2 weeks, with imipramine, desipramine, or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced submissive behavior. The effect faded after cessation of treatment with desipramine. Fluoxetine was further tested at 2.5- and 5-mg/kg doses and showed a dose-dependent reduction of submissive behavior. Treatment of submissive rats with the anxiolytic diazepam (1 mg/kg) was ineffective. The prevalence of dominant-submissive relationships and the effect of desipramine and imipramine on submissive behavior were gender independent. The predictive, face, and construct validity of the behavioral test is discussed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE