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Effects of chronic administration of antidepressant drugs on central serotonergic receptor mechanisms

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Book cover Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Research

Abstract

The present studies have shown that chronic antidepressant treatment with desipramine (DMI), imipramine (IMI) and zimelidine produced behavioral evidence for sub- and supersensitivity depending on 5-HT agonist dose and types of behavior examined. Thus, chronic treatment with all three drugs reduced head twitches induced by a high dose of the 5-HT agonist 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT, 4 mg/kg) while an enhanced response was observed at a low 5-MeO-DMT dose (1 mg/kg) or a low dose of the 5-HT precursor 1-5-hydroxytryptophan (12.5 mg/kg). Chronic ZIM and IMI treatment tended to enhance 5-HT receptor activity as assessed by the induction of hyperlocomotion by a high 5-MeO-DMT dose (4 mg/kg) while they reduced the effect of a low dose (1 mg/kg). Long-term ZIM treatment gave evidence of behavioral subsensitivity to the 5-HT agonist 5-MeO-DMT in avoidance learning, while an enhanced response to 5-MeO-DMT was observed in the tail-flick model. However, chronic ZIM treatment shortened response latency in the tail-flick model suggesting that the net result is a decrease in 5-HT activity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astra Research Laboratories, Södertälje, Sweden

    S-O Ögren

  2. Department of Histology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    K Fuxe

  3. Department of Physiology, Bergen University, Bergen, Norway

    O G Berge

  4. Departments of Human Physiology and Endocrinology, University of Modena, Italy

    L F Agnati

Authors
  1. S-O Ögren
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  2. K Fuxe
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  3. O G Berge
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  4. L F Agnati
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, California College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, USA

    Earl Usdin

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA

    Menek Goldstein , Arnold Friedhoff  & Anastasios Georgotas ,  & 

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Ögren, SO., Fuxe, K., Berge, O.G., Agnati, L.F. (1983). Effects of chronic administration of antidepressant drugs on central serotonergic receptor mechanisms. In: Usdin, E., Goldstein, M., Friedhoff, A., Georgotas, A. (eds) Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Research. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-06689-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-06689-6_7

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-06691-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-06689-6

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