Stressor-induced alterations in serotonergic activity in an animal model of depression

Thomas J. Connor, Cai Song, Brian E. Leonard, Hymie Anisman, Zul Merali

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of two neurogenic stressors (air puff and restraint) and a metabolic stressor (lipopolysaccharide; LPS 100 μg/kg, i.p.) on accumbal serotonergic neurotransmission in the olfactory bulbectomized (OB) rat model of depression. Both air puff and restraint stress caused greater increases in accumbal 5-HIAA in OB than in sham- operated rats. In contrast, bulbectomy resulted in a blunted serotonergic response to a challenge with LPS (a metabolic stressor). In addition, OB rats displayed significantly lower basal levels of 5-HIAA than sham-operated counterparts, a finding consistent with previous reports of the OB rat being a model of hyposerotonergic depression. The relevance of these findings to stressor provoked depressive-like behaviors in the OB rat are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)523-528
Number of pages6
JournalNeuroReport
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Feb 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Animal model
  • Depression
  • Nucleus accumbens
  • OB rat
  • Olfactory bulbectomy
  • Serotonin
  • Stress

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