Jun Fujishiro1,2,*, Taiichiro Imanishi2, Jun Baba2
and Kenji Kosaka1
1Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School
of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan
2Pharmaceutical Research Center, Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., 760
Morooka-cho, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 222-8567, Japan
*Corresponding author (affiliation #2). FAX: +81-45-545-3152
Abstract: We examined the effects of two noradrenergic tricyclic
antidepressants and two selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in the
tail suspension test, with a suspension period of 30 min instead of the
usual 10 min. Within the first 10 min, desipramine, nortriptyline and fluvoxamine
significantly reduced the duration of immobility. ‚vhereas desipramine and
nortriptyline were also efficacious in the rest of the test period, fluvoxamine
was not. Fluoxetine showed no significant effect throughout the study period.
These results suggest that a prolonged tail suspension test results in functional
changes in the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems and alters the sensitivity
to antidepressants.
Keywords: Tail suspension test, Antidepressant, Immobility time
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