title: Behavioral changes in Anolis carolinensis following injection with fluoxetine.
abstract: Eight adult male lizards of the genus and species Anolis carolinensis were used in this experiment. In order to induce aggressive responding, animals were caged separately and daily underwent pairing with another male, during which aggressive responses and changes in skin color were measured. After obtaining a baseline measure of aggressive responding, animals were injected either with fluoxetine or vehicle-controls in a cross-over design. Subjects were then exposed to five more days of (non drug) pairing with the intruder male, after which they underwent a second trial with fluoxetine/vehicle. Finally, two post-drug paired-trials were obtained. Fluoxetine injection significantly reduced the aggressive responding in the males while causing the postorbital eyespot to significantly darken. Subjects also showed increased aggressivity and skin-color reactivity subsequent to the two drug trials, although it is unclear if the fluoxetine, or non-specific factors of the injection paradigm, accounted for these changes. These results suggest that serotonergic CNS systems tonically regulate aggression in Anolis carolinesis, similar to that seen in many other species. They further suggest that eyespot-darkening and aggressive responding can be pharmacologically dissociated, implicating serotonin in the regulation of this phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington 06030, USA. Deckel@psychiatry.uche.edu
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Deckel
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008116:Lizards / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009915:Orbit / Q000502:physiology; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012934:Social Isolation
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors