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Antidepressant treatments have been proposed to produce their therapeutic effects, in part, through increasing neurotrophin levels in the brain. The current experiments investigated the effects of acute and chronic treatment with different pharmacologic and somatic antidepressant treatments on protein levels of BDNF in several brain regions associated with depression in the rat. Repeated applications (10 days) of electroconvulsive shock (ECS), but not a single treatment (1 day), produced 40-100% increases of BDNF protein in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, amygdala, and brainstem. Chronic (21 days), but not acute (1 day), treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) desipramine (10 mg/kg), the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine (10 mg/kg), and the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) phenelzine (10 mg/kg) increased BDNF protein levels in the frontal cortex (10-30%), but not in the hippocampus, amygdala, olfactory bulb, and brain stem. To determine whether the regulation of BDNF was unique to antidepressant treatments, drugs used to treat schizophrenia and anxiety were also studied. Chronic administration of the typical antipsychotic haloperidol (1 mg/kg) and the atypical antipsychotic clozapine (20 mg/kg) increased BDNF levels by only 8-10% in the frontal cortex. Haloperidol also elevated BDNF levels in the amygdala, while clozapine decreased BDNF in the olfactory bulb. Acute or chronic treatment with the benzodiazepine chlordiazepoxide (10 mg/kg) did not alter BDNF levels. These results suggest that diverse pharmacologic and somatic antidepressant treatments, as well as antipsychotics, increase levels of BDNF protein in the frontal cortex, even though they have different mechanisms of action at neurotransmitter systems.

1 The role of the delta opioid receptor in regulating anxiety-like behavior in male Sprague-Dawley rats was examined. 2 Using an elevated plus maze, the effects of the selective delta opioid receptor antagonist naltrindole (1 or 5 mg kg À1) and agonist SNC80 (1, 5 or 20 mg kg À1) on anxiety-like behavior were measured. Anxiety was also measured following administration of diazepam (3 mg kg À1) and amphetamine (1 mg kg À1) and compared to the effects of SNC80. Locomotor activity following administration of naltrindole, SNC80, diazepam, and amphetamine was measured. Finally, the defensive burying paradigm was used to confirm the findings from the elevated plus maze. 3 Results demonstrated that SNC80 produced dose-dependent anxiolytic effects similar to that of the classical antianxiety agent, diazepam. Administration of naltrindole caused anxiogenic behavior in rats further supporting the involvement of the delta opioid receptor system in regulating anxiety. Naltrindole also blocked the anxiolytic effects of SNC80. Amphetamine had no effect on anxiety-like behavior. SNC80 induced hyperactivity similar to amphetamine at the doses tested, while naltrindole and diazepam did not significantly affect locomotor activity. 4 Although SNC80 can increase locomotor activity, control experiments reported herein indicate that hyperlocomotion is not sufficient to produce an anxiolytic response on the elevated plus maze. Together with the results from the defensive burying paradigm, this suggests that the effects of SNC80 on reducing anxiety are independent of its effects on locomotion. Collectively these data show that the delta opioid receptor system can regulate anxiety-like behavior in an anxiolytic (agonist) and anxiogenic (antagonist) manner.

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Previous research has suggested that mobilization of neurotrophic factors, such as insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), can be involved in the effects of antidepressant treatments. The current experiments showed that IGF-I leads to antidepressant-like effects in the modified rat forced swim test when tested 3 days, but not 1 day, after i.c.v. administration. These effects were sustained longer than the antidepressants paroxetine and desipramine. In addition, blockade of the IGF-I receptor with the IGF-I antagonist JB1 30 min before IGF-I administration prevented the antidepressant-like effects of IGF-I. However, when JB1 was administered 3 days after IGF-I administration and 30 min prior to testing, the antidepressant-like effects of IGF-I were still present suggesting that IGF-1 produces a long-term activation of neural systems involved in the antidepressant response. Because the pattern of antidepressant-like effects of IGF-I resembled those of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the role of serotonin in the behavioral effects of IGF-I was studied. Depletion of serotonin, by the tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor para-chlorophenylalanine, blocked the antidepressant-like effects of IGF-I. Administration of IGF-I increased basal serotonin levels in the ventral hippocampus and altered the effects of acute citalopram. IGF-I administration did not change hippocampal cell proliferation at the 3-day timepoint when behavioral effects were seen. In addition, IGF-I did not alter the expression of mRNA levels of tryptophan hydroxylase or SERT in the brain stem, or [3H]citalopram binding in the hippocampus or cortex. Thus, IGF-I administration initiates a long-lasting cascade of neurochemical effects involving increased serotonin levels that results in antidepressant-like behavioral effects.

Behavioral and physiological changes were studied following prolonged exposure to social competition in pairs of non food-deprived rats competing daily for a limited supply of graham cracker crumbs. Stable dominant-subordinate relationships developed in most pairs, as measured by feeding time, which were maintained over a 5-6-week study period. In other behavioral tests, subordinates demonstrated a decreased latency to immobility in the forced swim test compared with dominants, but no difference in locomotor activity. Subordinates had increased bladder size, decreased adrenal gland size, and a 35% reduction of hippocampus cell proliferation compared with the dominant member. Therefore, prolonged social competition, based on restricted access to palatable substances, produced hierarchies among individuals that were associated with differences in behavior, physiology and hippocampal cell proliferation.

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