title: Panic-modulating effects of alprazolam, moclobemide and sumatriptan in the rat elevated T-maze.
abstract: The elevated T-maze was developed to test the hypothesis that serotonin plays an opposing role in the regulation of defensive behaviors associated with anxiety and panic. Previous pharmacological exploitation of this test supports the association between inhibitory avoidance acquisition and escape expression with anxiety and fear/panic, respectively. In the present study, we extend the pharmacological validation of this test by investigating the effects of other putative or clinically effective anxiety- and panic-modulating drugs. The results showed that chronic, but not acute injection of the reversible monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor moclobemide (3, 10 and 30mg/kg) inhibited escape expression, indicating a panicolytic-like effect. The same effect was observed after either acute or chronic treatment with alprazolam (1, 2 and 4mg/kg), a high potency benzodiazepine. This drug also impaired inhibitory avoidance acquisition, suggesting an anxiolytic effect. On the other hand, subcutaneous administration of the 5-HT1D/1B receptor agonist sumatriptan (0.1, 0.5 and 2.5μg/kg) facilitated escape performance, indicating a panicogenic-like effect, while treatment with α-para-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA; 4days i.p injections of 100mg/kg, or a single i.p injection of 300mg/kg), which caused marked 5-HT depletion in the amygdala and striatum, was without effect. Altogether, these results are in full agreement with the clinical effects of these compounds and offer further evidence that the elevated T-maze has broad predictive validity for the effects of anxiety- and panic-modulating drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Beatriz
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Fernando
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Weffort
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thatiane
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Sergio
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael Calsoni
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alana Tercino
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Frias
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Melina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matthiesen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Heloisa Helena
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Vilela-Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Shimene de Melo
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alex Teles
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valquiria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: de Bortoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristina Marta
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Del-Ben
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Bandeirantes Avenue, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil. Electronic address: zangross@fmrp.usp.br.
authors.forename: Helio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zangrossi
mesh_terms: D000525:Alprazolam / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D010134:Fenclonine / Q000494:pharmacology; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D020912:Moclobemide / Q000494:pharmacology; D010200:Panic / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D018170:Sumatriptan / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D012701:Serotonin; D018170:Sumatriptan; D020912:Moclobemide; D010134:Fenclonine; D000525:Alprazolam
keywords: Anxiety; Elevated T-maze; Panic and serotonin