Aged rats are still responsive to the antidepressant and memory-improving effects of oxytocin.
Oxytocin, intraperitoneally injected to 26-month-old male rats 60 min before testing, significantly improved social memory (at doses of 3 and 6 ng/kg) and reduced the duration of immobility in the behavioral despair test (at doses of 50 and 500 micrograms/kg). These results are in agreement with previous data obtained in adult rats and indicate that aging does not compromise the social memory improving and antidepressant-like activities of oxytocin.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Modena, Italy.
R
R
Arletti
A
A
Benelli
R
R
Poggioli
P
P
Luppi
B
B
Menozzi
A
A
Bertolini
D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012919:Social Behavior
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D010121:Oxytocin