Dose-dependent opposite effects of nortriptyline on affective-like behavior in adolescent rats: Comparison with adult rats
Antidepressant drugs elicit different behavioral and neurochemical responses with age. In fact, the use of antidepressants during adolescence is associated with an increased risk of suicidal thinking, being the best pharmacological treatment during this critical period a matter of constant debate in...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) |
| Repositorio: | Repisalud |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/23176 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/23176 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Antidepressant Nortriptyline Adolescence Hippocampus BDNF Neurogenesis Animales Antidepresivos Ratas Sprague-Dawley Factor Neurotrófico Derivado del Encáfalo Modelos Animales de Enfermedad Nortriptilina Adolescente Masculino Plasticidad Neuronal Síntomas Afectivos Ratas Humanos Conducta Animal Hipocampo Factores de Edad Neurogénesis Adulto Age Factors Behavior, Animal Adult Humans Adolescent Affective Symptoms Disease Models, Animal Male Neuronal Plasticity Rats Animals Antidepressive Agents Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Rats, Sprague-Dawley |
| Sumario: | Antidepressant drugs elicit different behavioral and neurochemical responses with age. In fact, the use of antidepressants during adolescence is associated with an increased risk of suicidal thinking, being the best pharmacological treatment during this critical period a matter of constant debate in terms of its risk-benefit outcome. In this regard, the present study compared the effects of nortriptyline (3-10 mg/kg, 7 days) on regulating different aspects of affective-like behavior by screening adolescent and adult Sprague-Dawley rats through several consecutive tests (forced-swim, open field, sucrose preference). Brains were later collected to evaluate hippocampal neurogenesis and mBDNF protein content as potential molecular correlates of the observed behavioral responses. The main results in adolescent rats showed that nortriptyline induced dose-dependent opposite effects: while 3 mg/kg decreased immobility and increased mBDNF (indicative of an antidepressant like response), 10 mg/kg decreased exploratory time in the open field and mBDNF (suggestive of an anxiogenic-like response). These effects were not associated with changes in neurogenesis regulation. In adult rats, nortriptyline failed to modulate affective-like behavior or the neuroplasticity markers evaluated at the doses tested. In conclusion, clear behavioral and neurochemical differences were observed between adolescent and adult rats in response to nortriptyline treatment. Interestingly, while nortriptyline displayed an antidepressant like potential at the lowest dose examined in adolescence, a higher dose shifted these results towards a negative outcome, thus reinforcing the need to extreme caution when considering this treatment for our younger population. |
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