Authors: Maya First Irit GilAd Michal Taler Igor Tarasenko Nurit Novak Abraham Weizman
Publish Date: 2012/09/12
Volume: 50, Issue: 1, Pages: 88-97
Abstract
Chronic mild stress CMS in rats is an established rodent depression model Antidepressants attenuate the depressionlike symptoms and prevent the biochemical changes caused by stress In the present study we examined the effect of CMS and the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor NRI reboxetine REB treatment on behavioral parameters in rats and on hippocampal and cortical neurotrophic factors Male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed for 5 weeks to a variety of mild stressors REB 5 mg/kg/ip was daily injected to half of the stressed and unstressed groups Animal behavior following CMS was tested using the Morris Water Maze MWM cognitive paradigm and by monitoring sucrose intake and weight gain After 5 weeks of CMS stressed rats showed decreased sucrose intake and REB treatment normalized this decrease CMS reduced hippocampal brainderived neurotrophic factor BDNF levels and REB treatment reversed this alteration and increased BDNF receptor TrkB levels REB elevated hippocampal extracellular signalregulated kinase ERK phosphorylation of both stressed and unstressed rats In conclusion our study shows that BDNF its receptor TrkB and ERK participate in the neurobiological response to chronic stress and in the molecular and cellular activities of REB in the hippocampus
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