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Rats may produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) in threatening situations. USV of adult male rats in association with aversive stimulation was evaluated as a screening method for anxiolytic drugs. The triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam, the 5-HT uptake inhibitors fluvoxamine and clomipramine, the mixed 5-HT/NA uptake inhibitor imipramine, the full 5-HT1A receptor agonists 8-OH-DPAT and flesinoxan, the partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists buspirone, ipsapirone and BMY 7378, the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine and the alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine reduced conditioned USV. The classical benzodiazepines (BZD) diazepam and chlordiazepoxide were ineffective or had a very low potency to decrease USV. The partial BZD receptor agonists bretazenil, alpidem and zolpidem, the BZD receptor antagonist flumazenil, the NA uptake inhibitors desipramine and maprotiline, and the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron had no effect on conditioned USV. The dopamine-D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol reduced USV at a very high dose. In separate experiments the effects of these drugs on locomotor activity were assessed. There was, however, no direct relationship between effects on motor behaviour and USV. In conclusion, the sensitivity of conditioned USV to 5-HT uptake inhibitors and alprazolam versus the insensitivity to classical benzodiazepines and NA uptake inhibitors provides a very interesting profile, which closely resembles the psychopharmacology of panic disorder. Also the face validity of conditioned USV towards situational panic attacks is high. We therefore propose conditioned USV in adult male rats as a novel behavioural paradigm to screen for anti-panic drugs.

The effect of various psychotropic drugs on the ambivalent behaviour "stretched approach posture" (SAP) in the rat was assessed. SAP was elicited after a mild startle reaction due to physical contact with an electrified prod at one end of a straight runway. Using ethological observation methods, SAP as well as intention movements, prod contact, crossings, rearing, exploration, grooming and immobility were recorded. The benzodiazepine receptor agonists chlordiazepoxide, diazepam and alprazolam, the 5-HT1A receptor agonists flesinoxan and ipsapirone and the 5-HT uptake inhibitor clomipramine selectively (no effect on crossings) reduced SAP. Except for alprazolam, these drugs also reduced intention movements. In addition, chlordiazepoxide and diazepam enhanced prod contact. Reductions of SAP and intentions with concomitant reductions of crossings (nonspecific antiambivalent effects) were established for the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine and the MAO inhibitor clorgyline. The 5-HT uptake inhibitor fluvoxamine suppressed intention movements, but not SAP. The mixed 5-HT/NA uptake inhibitor imipramine did not significantly affect SAP or intentions, but reduced crossings. The 5-HT2C/1B receptor agonist m-CPP, the inverse BZD receptor agonists FG 7142 and DMCM, and the alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine, to all of which putative anxiogenic effects have been ascribed, had no effect on SAP directed towards the prod. m-CPP, however, produced an increase in the stretched posture directed away from the prod (SAwayP). FG 7142 reduced intentions while strongly enhancing immobility (freezing). SAwayP and/or freezing may possibly reflect anxiogenic properties of drugs. The putative anxiogenic drug pentylenetetrazol false positively reduced SAP while increasing exploration. The dopamine-D2 receptor antagonist haloperidol and the catecholamine releaser dl-amphetamine had no effect on ambivalent behaviour. The muscarine receptor antagonist scopolamine reduced SAP and intentions while stimulating crossings. Finally, the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist ritanserine, the CCKA receptor antagonist devazepide, the CCKB receptor antagonist L-365.260 and the strychnine-insensitive glycine site antagonist 7-Cl-kynurenic acid were without effect on the behaviours in this paradigm using single doses. In conclusion, SAP and intention movements were reduced selectively by anxiolytic agents from different classes, including benzodiazepine receptor agonists, 5-HT1A receptor agonists and a 5-HT uptake inhibitor, whereas an alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist and a MAO inhibitor reduced SAP non-selectively. SAP in relation to other behaviours may therefore serve as a valuable paradigm to characterize anxiolytic drugs.

Guinea pigs possess central 5-HT1D receptors similar to humans but different from rats and mice. In order to study the role of this receptor on animal behaviour, it may be of interest to develop a paradigm measuring affective states in the guinea pig. Therefore we assessed the effects of a variety of psychotropic drugs on guinea pig pup isolation calls. Anxiolytic compounds such as the benzodiazepine receptor agonists diazepam and alprazolam, the full 5-HT1A receptor agonists 8-OH-DPAT and flesinoxan, and alcohol reduced isolation calling by the guinea pig pup. Moreover, mixed antidepressant/anxiolytic compounds like the 5-HT uptake inhibitors fluvoxamine and clomipramine or the MAO-inhibitor clorgyline as well as the antidepressant NA uptake inhibitors desipramine and maprotiline suppressed vocalizations. The 5-HT1D/1A receptor agonist 5-CT was also very effective in reducing separation calls. Remarkably, the partial 5-HT1A receptor agonists buspirone and BMY 7378 did not affect calling. The neuroleptic haloperidol, the psychostimulant d-amphetamine, the putative anxiogenics DMCM and m-CPP and the putative anxiolytics ondansetron and CI-988 had no effect on isolation calls of guinea pig pups. We propose this paradigm could be helpful to assess behavioural effects of anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs in a species different from rat or mouse, and in which the effects of 5-HT1D receptor ligands may possibly be established.

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