0000000000182270
AUTHOR
Paolo S. D'aquila
Anti-anhedonic actions of the novel serotonergic agent flibanserin, a potential rapidly-acting antidepressant
Chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stress has previously been found to depress the consumption of palatable sweet solutions and to block the formation of conditioned place preferences; these effects are reversed by chronic treatment with tricyclic or atypical antidepressant drugs. The present study was designed to evaluate the antidepressant-like activity in this model of flibaserin (BIMT-17), a novel serotonergic agent with 5-HT1A receptor agonist and 5-HT2 receptor antagonist properties. Two experiments were conducted, using rats (experiment 1) and mice (experiment 2). In experiment 1, decreases in sucrose intake were seen in rats exposed to chronic mild stress, but the effect was unr…
Attenuation of sucrose consumption in mice by chronic mild stress and its restoration by imipramine
Chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stressors (CMS) has previously been found to reduce the consumption of palatable, sweet solutions in rats. In the present study, the utility of this procedure was assessed in mice. Male AP mice subjected to CMS showed reduced consumption of a 2% or 4% sucrose solution. This effect was reversed by chronic (3 weeks) treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine (20 mg/kg per day). These results extend previous reports of a generalized decrease in sensitivity to reward (anhedonia) in rats caused by CMS and the efficacy of antidepressant treatment in this paradigm. Chronic unpredictable mild stress in mice appears to provide a realistic animal mod…