Subchronic phencyclidine exposure potentiates the behavioral and c-Fos response to stressful stimuli in rats.
Prior exposure to subchronic phencyclidine (PCP) produces behaviors argued to model schizophrenia in rats, including alterations in the behavioral responses to stress-inducing stimuli. Prior exposure to a single injection of PCP also produces a number of schizophrenia-like behaviors in rats, suggesting that a single injection of PCP is able to model schizophrenia-like behaviors as well. We examined the effects of prior exposure to either a single injection or subchronic PCP on stress-induced behavior and c-Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI). Twenty-four hours after a single injection of PCP (15 mg/kg) or subchronic PCP (10 mg/kg for 14 days) or saline, male rats were exposed to either novel environment, forced swim, or left in their home cages. A single injection of PCP produced only small effects on stress-induced behavior and FLI: a drugxtime interaction on the number of cage crossings in the novel environment and a drugxcondition interaction on FLI in the shell of the nucleus accumbens. However, subchronic PCP decreased cage crosses and rears in the novel environment and increased immobility in the forced swim test. The increased immobility in the forced swim test was accompanied by increased striatal FLI. These data suggest that while a single injection of PCP produces only minimal alterations in the response to stressful stimuli, subchronic PCP produces a quantitatively greater effect. In addition, the observation that PCP pretreatment increased striatal FLI induced by forced swim but not novelty suggest that PCP alters the behavioral responses to these stressors via different neurochemical mechanisms.
Turgeon
Sarah M
SM
Department of Psychology, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, United States. smturgeon@amherst.edu
Lin
Tiffany
T
Subramanian
Mrigaya
M
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000187:drug effects*; D006213:Hallucinogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology
D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D006213:Hallucinogens; D010622:Phencyclidine