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Sun N, You Y, Yang D, Jiang ZX, Xia T, Zhou QG, Zhu DY. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase in dorsal raphe nucleus mediates PTSD-like behaviors induced by single-prolonged stress through inhibiting serotonergic neurons activity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 585:139-145. [PMID: 34801934 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.11.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The pathogenesis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains largely unclear. A large body of evidence suggests that the abnormal level of serotonin (5-HT) is closely related to the onset of PTSD. Several reports reveal that nitric oxide (NO) affects extracellular 5-HT levels in various brain regions, but no consistent direction of change was found and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The most of serotonergic neurons in dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), a major source of serotonergic input to the forebrain, co-expresses neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), a synthase derived nitric oxide (NO) in the central nervous system. Here, we found that the excessive expression of nNOS and thereby the high concentration of NO followed by single-prolonged stress (SPS) caused suppression of the activity of DRN 5-HT neurons, inducing PTSD-like phenotype including increased anxiety-like behaviors, enhanced contextual fear memory, and fear generalization. Our study uncovered an important role of DRN nNOS-NO pathway in the pathology of PTSD, which may contribute to new understanding of the molecular mechanism of PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Sun
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China; Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou, 221004, China
| | - Yue You
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Analgesia Application, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221004, China; NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Drugs, Xuzhou, 221004, China
| | - Di Yang
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Zhi-Xin Jiang
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Tian Xia
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Qi-Gang Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Dong-Ya Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China; Institution of Stem Cells and Neuroregeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
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Moaddab M, Wright KM, McDannald MA. Early adolescent adversity alters periaqueductal gray/dorsal raphe threat responding in adult female rats. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18035. [PMID: 33093472 PMCID: PMC7582948 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74457-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Early adolescent adversity increases adult risk for anxiety disorders. The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) and neighboring dorsal raphe (DR) are integral to threat prediction, and are responsive to acute stressors. Here, we tested the hypothesis that early adolescent adversity reshapes vlPAG/DR threat-related cue activity and threat probability signaling. Female, Long Evans rats experienced a battery of adverse adolescent experiences (n = 12), while controls did not (n = 8). Single-unit activity was recorded 50 + days following the final adverse experience, when the adult rats received fear discrimination consisting of danger, uncertainty and safety cues. Despite achieving fear discrimination that was equivalent to controls, vlPAG/DR threat responding was altered in adverse-experienced rats. Early adolescent adversity resulted in a greater proportion of cue-responsive neurons. Cue-excited neurons showed greater increases in firing and cue-inhibited neurons showed greater decreases. Even more, early adversity reduced flexible, threat probability signaling by cue-excited neurons and promoted more rigid, fear output signaling by cue-inhibited neurons. The results reveal long-lasting changes in vlPAG/DR threat responding resulting from early adolescent adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Moaddab
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave., 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA.
| | - Kristina M Wright
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave., 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA
| | - Michael A McDannald
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave., 514 McGuinn Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA.
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Abstract
We show that in an animal model of anxiety the overall excitation, particularly in the infralimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex (IL), is increased and that the activity ratio between excitatory pyramidal neurons and inhibitory interneurons (AR PN/IN) is shifted towards excitation. The same change in AR PN/IN is evident for wildtype mice, which have been exposed to an anxiety stimulus. We hypothesize, that an elevated activity and the imbalance of excitation (PN) and inhibition (IN) within the neuronal microcircuitry of the prefrontal cortex is responsible for anxiety behaviour and employed optogenetic methods in freely moving mice to verify our findings. Consistent with our hypothesis elevation of pyramidal neuron activity in the infralimbic region of the prefrontal cortex significantly enhanced anxiety levels in several behavioural tasks by shifting the AR PN/IN to excitation, without affecting motor behaviour, thus revealing a novel mechanism by which anxiety is facilitated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Berg
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Josephine Eckardt
- Department of Systems Neuroscience Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Olivia Andrea Masseck
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- University of Bremen, Synthetic Biology, Bremen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Wright EC, Parks TV, Alexander JO, Supra R, Trainor BC. Activation of kappa opioid receptors in the dorsal raphe have sex dependent effects on social behavior in California mice. Behav Brain Res 2018; 351:83-92. [PMID: 29768187 PMCID: PMC6120584 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Kappa opioid receptor activation has been linked to stress and anxiety behavior, thus leading to kappa antagonists being popularized in research as potential anxiolytics. However, while these findings may hold true in standard models, the neuromodulatory effects of social defeat may change the behavioral outcome of kappa opioid receptor activation. Previous research has shown that social defeat can lead to hyperactivity of serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus, and that inhibition of this increase blocks the social deficits caused by defeat. Kappa opioid receptor activation in the dorsal raphe nucleus works to decrease serotonergic activity. We injected the kappa opioid receptor U50,488 directly into the dorsal raphe nucleus of male and female, defeat and control adult California mice. Here we show evidence that U50,488 induces anxiety behavior in control male California mice, but helps relieve it in defeated males. Consistent with previous literature, we find little effect in females adding evidence that there are marked and important sex differences in the kappa opioid system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Wright
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Tiffany V Parks
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Rajesh Supra
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Brian C Trainor
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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Zhang H, Zhao H, Zeng C, Van Dort C, Faingold CL, Taylor NE, Solt K, Feng HJ. Optogenetic activation of 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe suppresses seizure-induced respiratory arrest and produces anticonvulsant effect in the DBA/1 mouse SUDEP model. Neurobiol Dis 2018; 110:47-58. [PMID: 29141182 PMCID: PMC5748009 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2017.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Revised: 10/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a devastating epilepsy complication. Seizure-induced respiratory arrest (S-IRA) occurs in many witnessed SUDEP patients and animal models as an initiating event leading to death. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying S-IRA will advance the development of preventive strategies against SUDEP. Serotonin (5-HT) is an important modulator for many vital functions, including respiration and arousal, and a deficiency of 5-HT signaling is strongly implicated in S-IRA in animal models, including the DBA/1 mouse. However, the brain structures that contribute to S-IRA remain elusive. We hypothesized that the dorsal raphe (DR), which sends 5-HT projections to the forebrain, is implicated in S-IRA. The present study used optogenetics in the DBA/1 mouse model of SUDEP to selectively activate 5-HT neurons in the DR. Photostimulation of DR 5-HT neurons significantly and reversibly reduced the incidence of S-IRA evoked by acoustic stimulation. Activation of 5-HT neurons in the DR suppressed tonic seizures in most DBA/1 mice without altering the seizure latency and duration of wild running and clonic seizures evoked by acoustic stimulation. This suppressant effect of photostimulation on S-IRA is independent of seizure models, as optogenetic stimulation of DR also reduced S-IRA induced by pentylenetetrazole, a proconvulsant widely used to model human generalized seizures. The S-IRA-suppressing effect of photostimulation was increased by 5-hydroxytryptophan, a chemical precursor for 5-HT synthesis, and was reversed by ondansetron, a specific 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, indicating that reduction of S-IRA by photostimulation of the DR is specifically mediated by enhanced 5-HT neurotransmission. Our findings suggest that deficits in 5-HT neurotransmission in the DR are implicated in S-IRA in DBA/1 mice, and that targeted intervention in the DR is potentially useful for prevention of SUDEP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honghai Zhang
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Anesthesia, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Haiting Zhao
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Chang Zeng
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Health Management Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China
| | - Christa Van Dort
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Carl L Faingold
- Department of Pharmacology and Neurology, Division of Neurosurgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL 62794, USA
| | - Norman E Taylor
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Ken Solt
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Hua-Jun Feng
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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De Gregorio D, Comai S, Posa L, Gobbi G. d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) as a Model of Psychosis: Mechanism of Action and Pharmacology. Int J Mol Sci 2016; 17:E1953. [PMID: 27886063 PMCID: PMC5133947 DOI: 10.3390/ijms17111953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is known for its hallucinogenic properties and psychotic-like symptoms, especially at high doses. It is indeed used as a pharmacological model of psychosis in preclinical research. The goal of this review was to understand the mechanism of action of psychotic-like effects of LSD. We searched Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and articles' reference lists for preclinical studies regarding the mechanism of action involved in the psychotic-like effects induced by LSD. LSD's mechanism of action is pleiotropic, primarily mediated by the serotonergic system in the Dorsal Raphe, binding the 5-HT2A receptor as a partial agonist and 5-HT1A as an agonist. LSD also modulates the Ventral Tegmental Area, at higher doses, by stimulating dopamine D₂, Trace Amine Associate receptor 1 (TAAR₁) and 5-HT2A. More studies clarifying the mechanism of action of the psychotic-like symptoms or psychosis induced by LSD in humans are needed. LSD's effects are mediated by a pleiotropic mechanism involving serotonergic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. Thus, the LSD-induced psychosis is a useful model to test the therapeutic efficacy of potential novel antipsychotic drugs, particularly drugs with dual serotonergic and dopaminergic (DA) mechanism or acting on TAAR₁ receptors.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antipsychotic Agents/pharmacology
- Behavior, Animal/drug effects
- Disease Models, Animal
- Dopamine/metabolism
- Dopamine/pharmacology
- Dorsal Raphe Nucleus/drug effects
- Dorsal Raphe Nucleus/metabolism
- Dorsal Raphe Nucleus/physiopathology
- Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
- Hallucinogens/metabolism
- Hallucinogens/pharmacology
- Humans
- Lysergic Acid Diethylamide/metabolism
- Lysergic Acid Diethylamide/pharmacology
- Psychotic Disorders/drug therapy
- Psychotic Disorders/metabolism
- Psychotic Disorders/physiopathology
- Rats
- Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A/metabolism
- Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A/metabolism
- Receptors, Dopamine/metabolism
- Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/metabolism
- Receptors, Glutamate/metabolism
- Serotonin Receptor Agonists/metabolism
- Serotonin Receptor Agonists/pharmacology
- Synaptic Transmission/drug effects
- Ventral Tegmental Area/drug effects
- Ventral Tegmental Area/metabolism
- Ventral Tegmental Area/physiopathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo De Gregorio
- Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada.
| | - Stefano Comai
- Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Vita-Salute University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
| | - Luca Posa
- Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada.
| | - Gabriella Gobbi
- Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada.
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Hiroi R, Carbone DL, Zuloaga DG, Bimonte-Nelson HA, Handa RJ. Sex-dependent programming effects of prenatal glucocorticoid treatment on the developing serotonin system and stress-related behaviors in adulthood. Neuroscience 2016; 320:43-56. [PMID: 26844389 PMCID: PMC4840233 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.01.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2015] [Revised: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal stress and overexposure to glucocorticoids (GC) during development may be associated with an increased susceptibility to a number of diseases in adulthood including neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. In animal models, prenatal overexposure to GC results in hyper-responsiveness to stress in adulthood, and females appear to be more susceptible than males. Here, we tested the hypothesis that overexposure to GC during fetal development has sex-specific programming effects on the brain, resulting in altered behaviors in adulthood. We examined the effects of dexamethasone (DEX; a synthetic GC) during prenatal life on stress-related behaviors in adulthood and on the tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TpH2) gene expression in the adult dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). TpH2 is the rate-limiting enzyme for serotonin (5-HT) synthesis and has been implicated in the etiology of human affective disorders. Timed-pregnant rats were treated with DEX from gestational days 18-22. Male and female offspring were sacrificed on the day of birth (postnatal day 0; P0), P7, and in adulthood (P80-84) and brains were examined for changes in TpH2 mRNA expression. Adult animals were also tested for anxiety- and depressive- like behaviors. In adulthood, prenatal DEX increased anxiety- and depressive- like behaviors selectively in females, as measured by decreased time spent in the center of the open field and increased time spent immobile in the forced swim test, respectively. Prenatal DEX increased TpH2 mRNA selectively in the female caudal DRN at P7, whereas it decreased TpH2 mRNA selectively in the female caudal DRN in adulthood. In animals challenged with restraint stress in adulthood, TpH2 mRNA was significantly lower in rostral DRN of prenatal DEX-treated females compared to vehicle-treated females. These data demonstrated that prenatal overexposure to GC alters the development of TpH2 gene expression and these alterations correlated with lasting behavioral changes found in adult female offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Hiroi
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
| | - D L Carbone
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
| | - D G Zuloaga
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
| | - H A Bimonte-Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
| | - R J Handa
- Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
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El Mansari M, Manta S, Oosterhof C, El Iskandrani KS, Chenu F, Shim S, Blier P. Restoration of serotonin neuronal firing following long-term administration of bupropion but not paroxetine in olfactory bulbectomized rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2015; 18:pyu050. [PMID: 25522394 PMCID: PMC4360219 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyu050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Olfactory bulbectomized rats generally manifest many of the neurochemical, physiological, and behavioral features of major depressive disorder in humans. Another interesting feature of this model is that it responds to chronic but not acute antidepressant treatments, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The purpose of the present study was first to characterize the firing activity of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons in olfactory bulbectomized rats and then examine the effects of 2 antidepressants, bupropion and paroxetine. METHODS Olfactory bulbectomy was performed by aspirating olfactory bulbs in anesthetized rats. Vehicle and drugs were delivered for 2 and 14 days via subcutaneously implanted minipumps. In vivo electrophysiological recordings were carried out in male anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. RESULTS Following ablation of olfactory bulbs, the firing rate of serotonin neurons was decreased by 36%, leaving those of norepinephrine and dopamine neurons unchanged. In olfactory bulbectomized rats, bupropion (30 mg/kg/d) restored the firing rate of serotonin neurons to the control level following 2- and 14-day administration and also induced an increase in the tonic activation of serotonin(1A) receptors; paroxetine (10 mg/kg/d) did not result in a return to normal of the attenuated firing of serotonin neurons in olfactory bulbectomized rats. In the hippocampus, although at a higher dose of WAY 100635 than that required in bupropion-treated animals, paroxetine administration also resulted in an increase in the tonic activation of serotonin(1A) receptors. CONCLUSIONS The present results indicate that unlike paroxetine, bupropion administration normalized serotonin neuronal activity and increased tonic activation of the serotonin(1A) receptors in hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mostafa El Mansari
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Stella Manta
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Chris Oosterhof
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Franck Chenu
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Stacey Shim
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Pierre Blier
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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