Differential effects of perinatal exposure to antidepressants on learning and memory, acoustic startle, anxiety, and open-field activity in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Differential effects of perinatal exposure to antidepressants on learning and memory, acoustic startle, anxiety, and open-field activity in Sprague-Dawley rats. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2017 Jun 24;: Authors: Sprowles JLN, Hufgard JR, Gutierrez A, Bailey RA, Jablonski SA, Williams MT, Vorhees CV Abstract Most antidepressants inhibit monoamine reuptake. Selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) act on the 5-HT transporter (SERT) whereas norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) act on the norepinephrine and dopamine transporters. Epidemiological reports link SSRI use during pregnancy to an increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We previously showed that perinatal exposure to the SSRI citalopram (CIT) results in rodent offspring that exhibit a number of behaviors consistent with an ASD-like phenotype. The present study examined the effect of perinatal exposure to CIT (at a lower dose), another SSRI, fluoxetine (FLX), and an NDRI, bupropion (BUP). Gravid Sprague-Dawley rats were subcutaneously injected twice per day (6h apart) with 5mg/kg CIT, 5mg/kg FLX, 15mg/kg BUP, or saline (SAL) from embryonic day (E) 6-21, and directly to the pups from postnatal day (P) 1-20. As adults, one male/female from each litter was given one of a series of tests. Both SSRI-exposed groups showed spatial learning deficits in Morris and radial water mazes, increased marble burying, increased acoustic startle, hypoactivity, a...
Source: International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Int J Dev Neurosci Source Type: research