Effects of Chronic Trazodone Administration on Conflict Behavior in the Sprague-Dawley Rat
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Authors
Becker, Catherine
Issue Date
1989
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Though panic disorders are effectively treated by chronic
administration of older antidepressants such as imipramine or
desipramine, the anti-panic efficacy of the newer agent
trazodone is less dramatic. Recent reports have indicated that
chronic administration of an anti-depressant results in delayed
anti-conflict effects in the Conditioned Suppression of Drinking
(CSD) paradigm similar to that seen in clinical research,
suggesting that the CSD may be a potential animal model for
the study of panic disorder and prospective anti-panic
treatments. The present study examined the effects of chronic
trazodone treatment in the CSD paradigm. Rats were subjected
to a 10 minute test session once a day, 4 days a week for
approximately 3 months, during which they were allowed to
drink water with periodic electrification accompanied by a
tone. Half of the subjects received a mouth shock while the
others received a grid-floor shock. Subjects received chronic
treatments twice-daily with either saline or trazodone (10
mg/kg for 4 weeks followed by 20 mg/kg for 4 weeks).
Punished responding in the trazodone treated subjects
consistently matched saline treated controls.
Water intake remained near equivalent under different
treatment groups and shock groups. Effects of mouth shock
versus grid-floor shock were nearly equally effective in their
ability to decrease punished responding. These findings are
consistent with the clinical findings that trazodone exhibits
only moderate (if any) efficacy as an anti-panic treatment in
man.
Description
iii, 18 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.