Enhanced anxiety follows withdrawal from subchronic exposure to phencyclidine in rats.
Anxiety was assessed in rats treated with 5mg/kg of PCP bid for 7 days. One week after withdrawal, measures were collected in the light/dark apparatus and during exposure to a cat odor. PCP decreased time spent in the lit area and number of contacts with a cat collar. PCP thus amplified rats' fear of unprotected environments and predatory threats, which seems compatible with the distorted emotional experience in human schizophrenia.
Audet
Marie-Claude
MC
Ecole de psychologie, Université Laval, Canada; Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard (CRULRG), 2601 de la Canardière, F-6500, Beauport, Québec, Canada G1J 2G3.
Goulet
Sonia
S
Doré
François Y
FY
D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006257:Head; D008297:Male; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011187:Posture; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010622:Phencyclidine