Specificity of the learned helplessness model of depression

Sherman, A.D.; Sacquitne, J.L.; Petty, Frederick

doi:10.1016/0091-3057(82)90451-8

Cited by 359 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Although the shuttle escape deficit is sensitive to some anxiolytic and antidepressant treatments (e.g., [11,42,55]), escape learning or post-shock freezing have not been extensively validated as animal models of any particular condition. Other behaviors have been used as endpoints in uncontrollable stress experiments, such as reduced duration of swimming when placed in water (e.g., [45]), but to our knowledge there are no published studies demonstrating that reduced swimming was a result of the uncontrollability/controllability of the stressor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of prior stressor controllability and the dorsal raphé nucleus in sucrose preference and social exploration

Christianson

Paul

Irani

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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Research investigating how control over stressors affects behavior often utilizes freezing and shuttle escape learning as the behavioral endpoints. These endpoints have been argued to reflect anxious or depressed states, but these descriptions are problematic. The present study sought to determine the impact of stressor controllability and the dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN) on sucrose preference and juvenile social exploration, putative measures of anhedonia and anxiety that are commonly used in studies of stress per se. In Experiment 1 rats were exposed to escapable (ES) or yoked-inescapable (IS) tailshocks. In Experiment 2 ES or IS was given 7 days before all rats received IS. In Experiment 3 the DRN was inactivated during IS by microinjection of 8-OH-DPAT. Sucrose preference and social exploration were tested for several days after stress. A fourth experiment confirmed that juvenile social exploration is sensitive to traditional β-carboline and benzodiazepine manipulations. Both ES and IS reduced sucrose preference, but only IS reduced social exploration. Prior treatment with ES prevented the effect of IS on social exploration but did not prevent the effect of IS on sucrose preference and inactivation of the DRN prevented the effect of IS on social exploration but did not change sucrose preference. The present results indicate that social exploration but not sucrose preference is sensitive to prior stressor controllability, and that DRN activation mediates the effect of IS on social exploration. We argue that DRN-5-HT activation mediates a state of generalized anxiety produced by uncontrollable stress and that juvenile social exploration is a useful behavioral endpoint in stressor controllability studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of prior stressor controllability and the dorsal raphé nucleus in sucrose preference and social exploration

Christianson

Paul

Irani

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…We define this model of ED as acute because the time interval between the unavoidable stress and the escape test cannot be delayed beyond 24 hr, in order to observe a significant hyporeactivity in 90% of the animals. This interval is too short for the evaluation of ED reversal, since classical antidepressants require at least 4-6 days of continuous treatment to become active (Sherman et al 1982). Thus, the utilization of acute ED has been restricted to the assessment of the prevention liability of potential antidepressant treatments on the behavioral sequelae of stress (Gambarana et al 1995a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, acute ED is a simplified version of the classical learned helplessness syndrome (Overmier and Seligman 1967;Seligman and Maier 1967;Sherman et al 1982). During the four days preceding the escape test each animal is allowed a daily 10 min period of exploration in the experimental cage with the sliding door open, because familiarity with the environment greatly improves an animal's performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of an Hypericum Perforatum (St. John's Wort) Extract in Preventing and Reverting a Condition of Escape Deficit in Rats

Gambarana

1999

Neuropsychopharmacology

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“…was administered once daily from PN42 and throughout the behavioral testing period in order to maintain active serum and brain drug concentrations. A dose of imipramine in this range (10-20 mg/kg/day) has been shown to reliably active in other animal models of depression such as learned helplessness and chronic mild stress (Monleon et al, 1995;Papp et al, 1996;Sherman et al, 1982). Since multiple-day antidepressant treatment is required to achieve therapeutic results in humans (4-6 weeks) as well predictive activity in well-validated rat models such as learned helplessness (4-5 days) and chronic mild stress (3-5 weeks), treatment with imipramine was begun 18 days prior to the first behavioral test.…”

Section: Animals and Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neonatal citalopram exposure produces lasting changes in behavior which are reversed by adult imipramine treatment

Maciąg

Williams

Coppinger

et al. 2006

European Journal of Pharmacology

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Neonatal exposure to antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as citalopram, induces behavioral disturbances which persist in mature rats. These disturbances have been proposed to model the symptoms of endogenous depression. However, to date there is scant evidence for the predictive validity of any of these behaviors in response to adult antidepressant treatments. In order to directly assess the predictive validity of the early antidepressant exposure paradigm, the present study examined whether the behavioral abnormalities observed in adult animals exposed as neonates to citalopram can be reversed by adult antidepressant treatment with the prototypic antidepressant, imipramine. As noted earlier, neonatal citalopram exposure robustly increased locomotor activity and impaired male sexual behavior in adult rats. These behavioral changes were reversed following chronic adult imipramine treatment. No such reversal was observed in handled, saline treated rats. The present data support the hypothesis that some of the lasting behavioral abnormalities induced by early antidepressant exposure are sensitive to clinically relevant antidepressant treatments thus adding a measure of predictive validity to this paradigm as a model of these depressive symptoms.

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Specificity of the learned helplessness model of depression

Cited by 359 publications

References 11 publications

The role of prior stressor controllability and the dorsal raphé nucleus in sucrose preference and social exploration

The role of prior stressor controllability and the dorsal raphé nucleus in sucrose preference and social exploration

Efficacy of an Hypericum Perforatum (St. John's Wort) Extract in Preventing and Reverting a Condition of Escape Deficit in Rats

Neonatal citalopram exposure produces lasting changes in behavior which are reversed by adult imipramine treatment

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