The Gerbil Elevated Plus-Maze I Behavioral Characterization and Pharmacological Validation

Varty, Geoffrey B.

doi:10.1016/s0893-133x(02)00312-3

Cited by 76 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The paroxetine-induced increase in LMA occurred at doses that reduced immobility in the FST, and therefore, could not be dissociated from its apparent antidepressant-like efficacy. Sertraline and citalopram have similarly been reported to increase hyperlocomotion in gerbils, although these studies did not report alterations in LMA with paroxetine (Varty et al, 2002a(Varty et al, , 2003. The increased activity induced by some SSRI compounds should not be generalized across this class of molecules, since fluoxetine has consistently been shown to not increase LMA in gerbils in (present study; Varty et al (2002a)).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

Behavioral and Pharmacological Validation of the Gerbil Forced-Swim Test: Effects of Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

Wallace-Boone

Newton

Wright

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Several studies have suggested that neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonists may have therapeutic potential as novel antidepressant drugs. To test these compounds preclinically, gerbils have become one of the preferred species in that they demonstrate close NK1 receptor homology with humans and bind NK1 antagonists with higher affinity than rats and mice. The intent of the present study was to determine whether the forced-swim test (FST), one of the most commonly used animal tests of antidepressant-like activity, could be adapted for use with the gerbil. Critical factors in the establishment of this assay included swim tank diameter, weight, and sex of the animals tested. Pharmacological validation of the FST using standard antidepressant compounds (eg fluoxetine, paroxetine, desipramine) resulted in decreased immobility time during the test, indicative of an antidepressant-like effect. Similar to results reported for the rat and mouse FST, the antipsychotic drug haloperidol increased immobility, whereas the psychostimulant, amphetamine decreased immobility, and anxiolytic drugs (eg buspirone) had no effect. Investigation into the locomotor effects of all compounds tested was consistent with previous reports in other species, with the exception of paroxetine, which produced hyperactivity at therapeutically effective doses in gerbils. In addition to standard antidepressants, NK1 antagonists (L-733060, MK-869, and CP-122721) all reduced immobility in the gerbil FST without affecting locomotor activity. Overall, these results suggest that the gerbil is an ideal species for use in the FST, and that this paradigm may have predictive validity for identifying novel antidepressant compounds.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

Behavioral and Pharmacological Validation of the Gerbil Forced-Swim Test: Effects of Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

Wallace-Boone

Newton

Wright

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, MK-869 reduced stretch-attend postures, and increased head dips and open arm entries, further indications of anxiolytic-like activity. This anxiolytic-like profile for MK-869 was similar to the effects of the benzodiazepine, diazepam (see Varty et al 2002). Both MK-869 and diazepam produced approximately 40% increases in open arm time, as well as significant increases in open arm entries and head dips, and decreases in stretch-attend postures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The main aim of these studies was to test five selective NK1 receptor antagonists for anxiolytic-like activity using the elevated plus-maze, a traditional rodent model of anxiety recently adapted for the gerbil (see Varty et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Details of the apparatus, experimental procedure, and behavioral analysis are described in Varty et al (2002).…”

Section: Gerbil Elevated Plus-mazementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent publications that adapted rat anxiety models for gerbils, Sandra File and colleagues described the anxiolytic-like effects of diazepam and the NK1 antagonist L-760,735 in the gerbil social interaction test Cheeta et al 2001), while Ballard et al (2001) described the anxiolytic-like effects of diazepam and the NK1 antagonists MK-869 and CP-99,994 in a fear-conditioning paradigm. To expand on these findings, and based on the success of the rat and mouse elevated plus-mazes, we recently described the characterization and pharmacological validation of the gerbil elevated plus-maze as a model to screen anxiolytic compounds (Varty et al 2002). Briefly, using an elevated plus-maze designed specially for the gerbil, we demonstrated that gerbils displayed a behavioral profile that was suitable for testing anxiolytic drugs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Gerbil Elevated Plus-maze II Anxiolytic-like Effects of Selective Neurokinin NK1 Receptor Antagonists

Varty¹

2002

Neuropsychopharmacology

Self Cite

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neurokinin NK1 receptor antagonists may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Species variants in the NK1 receptor result in reduced affinity 694,060,994,721 produced anxiolyticlike The tachykinin system, particularly the neurokinin NK1 receptor, may represent a new target for the treatment of a number of psychiatric disorders. Of greatest significance to the field, Kramer et al. (1998) described the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of the NK1 antagonist, MK-869, in a 6-week clinical trial in patients diagnosed with co-morbid anxiety and depression. In the few studies that have assessed the anxiolytic-like and antidepressant-like effects of NK1 receptor antagonists in preclinical tests, results support the hypotheses that NK1 receptor blockade may have a role in the treatment of affective disorders. For example, the NK1 an-

show abstract

Animal Tests of Anxiety

File

Lippa²,

Beer³

et al. 2004

CP Pharmacology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Animal tests of anxiety are used to screen novel compounds for anxiolytic or anxiogenic activity, to investigate the neurobiology of anxiety, and to assess the impact of other occurrences such as exposure to predator odors or early rearing experiences. This unit presents protocols for the most commonly used animal tests of anxiety. The Geller-Seifter conflict test, the social interaction test, light/dark exploration, the elevated plus-maze, defensive burying, and the thirsty rat conflict. The protocols are described in terms of drug screening tests, but can be modified easily for other purposes.

show abstract

The Gerbil Elevated Plus-Maze I Behavioral Characterization and Pharmacological Validation

Cited by 76 publications

References 59 publications

Behavioral and Pharmacological Validation of the Gerbil Forced-Swim Test: Effects of Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

Behavioral and Pharmacological Validation of the Gerbil Forced-Swim Test: Effects of Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists

The Gerbil Elevated Plus-maze II Anxiolytic-like Effects of Selective Neurokinin NK1 Receptor Antagonists

Animal Tests of Anxiety

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About