Female rats show an increased sensibility to the forced swim test depressive-like stimulus in the hippocampus and frontal cortex 5-HT1A receptors.
Affective disorders are more common in women. The forced swim test acts like a depressive stimulus. Hippocampus and frontal cortex 5-HT1A receptors of female and male Wistar rats subjected to the forced swim test were compared with a sham group. The forced swim test diminishes (P<0.05) the hippocampus 3H-8OH-DPAT bound in the female rats (184+/-16 fmol/mg protein) with respect to the male rats (309+/-41 fmol/mg protein) and to the female sham rats (255+/-20 fmol/mg protein). The forced swim test increases the frontal cortex 5-HT1A receptors in the female rats with respect to the female sham group (40.4+/-5 versus 24.7+/-4 fmol/mg protein, P<0.05). An increased sensibility of the 5-HT1A receptors to depressive-stimulus may be one mechanism underlying the higher prevalence of depression in female.
Bellido
Inmaculada
I
Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga, Spain. ibellido@uma.es
Gomez-Luque
A
A
Garcia-Carrera
P
P
Rius
F
F
de la Cuesta
F Sanchez
FS
D017371:8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D003863:Depression / Q000378:metabolism*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D044263:Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT1; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D012737:Sex Factors; D013550:Swimming
D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D044263:Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT1; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; D017371:8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin