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F G Graeff

Publications and source records attributed to F G Graeff.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Anxiety-induced antinociception in mice: effects of systemic and intra-amygdala administration of 8-OH-DPAT and midazolam.

RATIONALE: Mice exhibit antinociception after a single experience in the elevated plus maze (EPM), an animal model of anxiety. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the mechanisms involved in this form of anxiety-induced antinociception. METHODS: Nociception was evaluated by means of the writhing test in mice confined either to the open or enclosed arms of the EPM. The effects of systemic (naloxone, midazolam and 8-OH-DPAT) or intra-amygdala (8-OH-DPAT, NAN-190 and midazolam) drug infusions were investigated in mice previously treated i.p. with 0.6% acetic acid, an algic stimulus that induces abdominal contortions. The effects of these drugs on conventional measures of anxiety (% entries and % time in open arms) in a standard EPM test were also independently investigated. RESULTS: Open-arm confinement resulted in a high-magnitude antinociception (minimum 85%, maximum 450%) compared with enclosed arm confinement. The opiate antagonist naloxone (1 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg) neither blocked this open arm-induced antinociception (OAIA) nor modified indices of anxiety in EPM. Administration of midazolam (0.5-2 mg/kg, s.c.) increased OAIA and produced antinociception in enclosed confined animals, as well as attenuating anxiety in the EPM. The 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT (0.05-1 mg/kg, s.c.) had biphasic effects on OAIA, antagonising the response at the lowest dose and intensifying it at the highest dose. In addition, low doses of this agent reduced anxiety in the EPM. Although bilateral injections of 8-OH-DPAT (5.6 nmol/0.4 microl) or NAN-190 (5.6 nmol and 10 nmol/0.4 microl) into the amygdala did not alter OAIA, increased anxiety was observed in the EPM. In contrast, intra-amygdala administration of midazolam (10 nmol and 30 nmol/0.4 microl) blocked both OAIA and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: These results with systemic and intracerebral drug infusion suggest that 5-HT(1A) receptors localised in the amygdala are not involved in the pain inhibitory processes that are "recruited" during aversive situations. However, activation of these receptors does phasically increase anxiety. Although the intrinsic antinociceptive properties of systemically administered midazolam confounded interpretation of its effects on OAIA, intra-amygdala injections of this compound suggest that benzodiazepine receptors in this brain region modulate both the antinociceptive and behavioural (anxiety) responses to the EPM.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Behavioral effects of acute and chronic imipramine in the elevated T-maze model of anxiety.

The elevated T-maze is an animal model of anxiety, consisting of three elevated arms: one enclosed and two open. Inhibitory avoidance of the open arms-representing learned fear-has been related to generalized anxiety and the unconditioned escape from one of the open arms to panic. In the present study, we investigated the effects of acute and chronic (21 days) administration of imipramine (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg; IP) in male Wistar rats that have been previously exposed for 30 min to one of the open arms of the T-maze, 24 h before the test. The results show that this preexposure shortens the first escape latency, without changing open-arm avoidance. Under these experimental conditions, chronic imipramine exerted anxiolytic-like effects in the two elevated T-maze tasks; impaired the acquisition of inhibitory avoidance and prolonged escape latency from the open arms. Acute imipramine enhanced both avoidance and escape latencies. Both acute and chronic imipramine decreased locomotor activity measured in a square arena. The obtained results are compatible with the view that inhibitory avoidance and one-way escape in the elevated T-maze reflect different types of fear/anxiety, that may be related to generalized anxiety and panic disorder, respectively.

Animals↗

Effects of tryptophan depletion on anxiety induced by simulated public speaking.

Several lines of evidence point to the participation of serotonin (5HT) in anxiety. Its specific role, however, remains obscure. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of reducing 5HT-neurotransmission through an acute tryptophan depletion on anxiety induced by a simulated public speaking (SPS) test. Two groups of 14-15 subjects were submitted to a 24-h diet with a low or normal content of tryptophan and received an amino acid mixture without (TRY-) or with (TRY+) tryptophan under double-blind conditions. Five hours later they were submitted to the SPS test. The state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) and the visual analogue mood scale (VAMS) were used to measure subjective anxiety. Both scales showed that SPS induced a significant increase in anxiety. Although no overall difference between groups was found, there was a trend (P = 0.078) to an interaction of group x gender x phases of the SPS, and a separate analysis of each gender showed an increase in anxiety measured by the STAI in females of the TRY- group. The results for the female TRY- group also suggested a greater arousing effect of the SPS test. In conclusion, the tryptophan depletion procedure employed in the present study did not induce a significant general change in subjective anxiety, but tended to induce anxiety in females. This suggests a greater sensitivity of the 5HT system to the effects of the procedure in this gender.

Adolescent↗

Anxiolytic effect of intra-amygdala injection of midazolam and 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin in the elevated T-maze.

The effects of intra-amygdala injection of midazolam (20 nmol) and 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 8 and 16 nmol) were investigated in rats submitted to the elevated T-maze, a new animal model of anxiety. This test allows the measurement, in the same rat, of conditioned and unconditioned fear/anxiety responses. Both drugs impaired inhibitory avoidance of the open arms of the T-maze (task representing conditioned fear), indicating an anxiolytic effect, but did not change escape performance from one of the open arms (representing unconditioned fear). The results further implicate gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)/benzodiazepine and serotonergic systems within the basolateral/lateral amygdala in the modulation of conditioned anxiety responses.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Evaluation of the elevated T-maze as an animal model of anxiety in the mouse.

The elevated T-maze has been developed as an animal model of anxiety to generate both conditioned and unconditioned fears in the same rat. This study explores a version of the elevated T-maze fit for mice. Inhibitory (passive) avoidance- conditioned fear-is measured by recording the latency to leave the enclosed arm during three consecutive trials. One-way escape- unconditioned fear-is measured by recording the time to withdraw from open arms. The results showed that mice do not appear to acquire inhibitory avoidance in the standard T-maze, since their latencies to leave enclosed arm did not increase along trials. Nevertheless, the open arms seemed to be aversive for mice, because the latency to leave the enclosed arm after the first trial was lower in a T-maze with the three enclosed arms than in the standard elevated T-maze. In agreement, the exposure of mice to an elevated T-maze without shield, that reduces the perception of openness, increased significantly the latencies to leave the enclosed arm. However, the absence of the shield also increased the time taken to leave the open arms when compared to that recorded in standard T-maze. Systematic observation of behavioral items in the enclosed arm has shown that risk assessment behavior decreases along trials while freezing increases. In the open arms, freezing did not appear to influence the high latency to leave this compartment, since mice spend only about 8% of their time exhibiting this behavior. These results suggest that mice acquire inhibitory avoidance of the open arms by decreasing and increasing time in risk assessment and freezing, respectively, along three consecutive trials. However, one-way escape could not be characterized. Therefore, there are important differences between mice (present results) and rats (previously reported results) in the performance of behavioral tasks in the elevated T-maze.

Animals↗

A neurotoxic lesion of serotonergic neurones using 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine does not disrupt latent inhibition in paradigms sensitive to low doses of amphetamine.

Testing the effects of low doses of d-amphetamine on latent inhibition (LI) in two different conditioning paradigms, passive avoidance and conditioned taste aversion, provided evidence of their pharmacological equivalence. For passive avoidance, LI was expressed by the decreased latency to enter a shock compartment in preexposed rats placed 5 min in the compartment during 3 consecutive days before conditioning. In the conditioned taste aversion paradigm, a group of rats was preexposed to a solution of sucrose also for 3 consecutive days prior to the establishment of an association between sucrose and sickness elicited by an injection of LiCl. On the following day, the preexposed rats drunk more sucrose when allowed to choose between one tube containing water and an other containing sucrose. In both paradigms, 0.25 mg/kg d-amphetamine, injected daily on the 3 preexposure days and on the conditioning day, decreased LI. A dose of 0.5 mg/kg suppressed LI in the passive avoidance paradigm. The effect of a serotonergic lesion induced by i.c.v. injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) was evaluated in the same paradigms. The lesion procedure that lowered hippocampal serotonin and 5 HIAA levels by more than 80% did not affect LI. Taken together, the present results lessens the hypothesis that LI is prone to an opposing influence of the two monoaminergic systems considered in this work.

5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine↗

Effect of electrolytic lesion of the median raphe nucleus on behavioral and physiological measures of stress.

The effect of electrolytic lesion of the median raphe nucleus was measured on behavioral and physiological parameters related to stress 24 h after the lesion. In of the elevated plus-maze the lesion decreased the percentage of open arm entries and tended to shorten the time spent on the open arms indicating an increase in anxiety. In contrast, the lesion markedly increased the time spent in the bright (aversive) compartment of the light-dark box and decrease in attempts to cross from the dark toward the bright compartment, an anxiolyic effect. With the exception of plasma prolactin level, which was lowered by the lesion, the physiological measures used in the present study indicate that the lesioned animals are under stress. Thus, death rate and weight loss after the surgery were higher in lesioned than in control animals. In addition, lesioned animals showed higher plasma corticosterone levels, a high incidence of gastric ulcers in the fundus and a depressed immune response to the mitogen concavaline A. These results highlight the importance of the median raphe nucleus in the regulation of stress and anxiety. They also show that behavioral and physiological measures of stress may be dissociated.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Involvement of the midbrain periaqueductal gray 5-HT1A receptors in social conflict induced analgesia in mice.

Recent results from our laboratory have shown that 30-bites social conflict in mice produces a high-intensity, short-term analgesia which is attenuated by systemically injected 5-HT1A receptor agonists, such as BAY R 1531 (6-methoxy-4-(di-n-propylamino)-1,3,4,5-tetrahydrobenz((c,d)indole hydrochloride) and gepirone. The present study investigated the effects of these drugs, as well as the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY 100135 (N-tert-butyl-3-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine-1-yl)-2-phenylpropanamide ) injected into the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter of mice on 30-bites analgesia. Four to five days after guide-cannula implantation, each mouse received microinjection of gepirone (30 nmol/0.2 microl), BAY R 1531 (10 nmol/0.2 microl), WAY 100135 (10 nmol/0.2 microl), saline (0.9% NaCl) or vehicle (saline + 4% Tween 80) 5 min before either an aggressive (30 bites) or a non-aggressive interaction. Nociception was assessed by the tail-flick test made before as well as 1, 5, 10 and 20 min after social interaction. The full 5-HT1A receptor agonist BAY R 1531 blocked, whereas, WAY 100135 and gepirone intensified 30-bites analgesia. Neither non-aggressive interaction, per se, nor the three compounds given after this type of social interaction significantly changed nociception. These results indicate that 5-HT1A receptors in the periaqueductal gray inhibit analgesia induced by social conflict in mice.

Aggression↗

The elevated T-maze as an experimental model of anxiety.

Anxiety disorders are heterogeneous and existing animal models do not discriminate specific types of anxiety. The elevated T-maze is being developed to fulfill this purpose. The apparatus consists of three elevated arms, one enclosed and two open. Inhibitory avoidance--representing learned fear--is measured by recording the time taken to leave the enclosed arm in three consecutive trials. Unconditioned fear is evaluated by recording the time to escape from the open arm. Restraining the animals at the end of the enclosed arm for 30 s did not change the first (baseline) withdrawal latency, indicating that rats are not escaping from the experimenter's hand. In addition, rats trained in a T-maze with the three arms enclosed did not show the usual increase in withdrawal latency over the three consecutive trials. These results indicate that open arm experience, not handling, motivates inhibitory avoidance learning. The same experiment also showed that the latency to leave the open arm did not undergo habituation over five consecutive trials, thereby providing evidence of an aversive motivation for this response. The anxiolytic agents diazepam (benzodiazepine), buspirone and ipsapirone (5-HT1A agonists) as well as ritanserin (5-HT2 antagonist) selectively impaired inhibitory avoidance while leaving one-way escape unchanged. Similar results were obtained with three putative anxiolytics: the 5-HT2B/2C antagonists SB 200646A and SER 082, and the 5-HT2A antagonist SR 46349B. However, RP 62203, another 5-HT2A antagonist, was ineffective on both tasks. In contrast to the above anxiolytics, the anxiogenic agents yohimbine, TFPP and mCPP facilitated inhibitory avoidance. Escape was not affected by yohimbine, but was moderately attenuated by the two 5-HT2C/2B agonists. The 5-HT releaser and uptake inhibitor D-fenfluramine tended to enhance inhibitory avoidance, while impairing one-way escape in a dose-dependent way. The antidepressant clomipramine also had an anxiogenic-like effect on inhibitory avoidance, but did not affect escape from the open arm. Conversely, the phenethylamine hallucinogen ALEPH 2 did not affect inhibitory avoidance while impairing escape. Nevertheless, the similar compound and 5-HT2A agonist DOI was devoid of any effect. Also ineffective were the psychomotor stimulants D,L-amphetamine and caffeine, the reversible monoaminoxidase-A inhibitor moclobemide and the neuroleptic haloperidol. Finally, micro-injection into the dorsal raphe nucleus of two drugs that stimulate 5-HT neurons, the excitatory amino acid kainic acid and the benzodiazepine inverse agonist FG 7142, facilitated inhibitory avoidance. Kainate also significantly impaired escape. In contrast, intra-raphe 8-OH-DPAT, which inhibits 5-HT neurons, selectively impaired inhibitory avoidance in a manner similar to systemically administered anxiolytics. These behavioral and pharmacological results support the view that inhibitory avoidance in the elevated T-maze may be related to generalized anxiety disorder, while one-way escape may be associated with panic disorder.

Animals↗

Differential expression of c-fos mRNA and Fos protein in the rat brain after restraint stress or pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures.

1. c-fos mRNA expression and Fos protein expression were investigated by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry after 30 min of forced restraint stress or pentylenetetrazol (PTZ; 64 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced seizures. 2. Forced restraint stress and PTZ-induced seizures generated c-fos mRNA expression of distinct intensities, but in similar brain regions, including the hippocampus, the amygdala, the piriform cortex, the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, the habenula, and parts of the cerebral cortex. 3. The distribution of Fos-like immunoreactivity induced by stress or seizures only partially overlap. No Fos-like expression was found in the hippocampus or the habenula after restraint stress. Nevertheless, both areas presented Fos-like expression after PTZ-induced seizures. 4. Our results support the suggestion that immediate early gene expression in vivo may exhibit both region- and stimulus-specific expression.

Animals↗

Acute inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis induces anxiolysis in the plus maze test.

The involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in anxiety was investigated in rats, using the elevated plus maze test. Acute, but not chronic, systemic treatment with N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10 and 60 mg.kg-1), an inhibitor of NO synthase, increased the time spent by the rats in the open arms. Both the acute and chronic treatments with L-NAME inhibited NO synthase in endothelial cells and in the central nervous system, as shown by the increase in mean arterial pressure and decreased NO synthase activity in brain tissue. Chronic treatment with L-NAME also decreased the serum nitrate levels. The anxiolysis induced by acute L-NAME treatment is unlikely to be due to hypertension, since two-kidney one-clip hypertension in non-L-NAME-treated rats failed to significantly change exploratory behaviour in the elevated plus maze. These results indicate that acute inhibition of NO synthesis decreases anxiety in rats.

Analysis of Variance↗

High intensity social conflict in the Swiss albino mouse induces analgesia modulated by 5-HT1A receptors.

Social conflict between mice produces analgesia in the attacked mouse. Both the magnitude and type (opioid or nonopioid) of this analgesia have been related to attack intensity and strain of mouse. In the present study low intensity social conflict (7 bites) did not produce analgesia, whereas high intensity - 30 and 60 bites - interactions produced, respectively, short-lasting (5 min) and very short-lasting (1 min) analgesia in Swiss albino mice, when compared with nonaggressive interaction (0 bite). The 30 bites aggressive interaction induced analgesia (AIIA) was not affected by IP injection of either naloxone (5.0 and 7.5 mg/kg) or diazepam (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg). However, this attack-induced analgesia was reduced after IP administration of the 5-HT1A agonists, gepirone (0.3 and 3.0 mg/kg) and BAY R 1531 (0.01 mg/kg). These results indicate that the analgesia induced by 30 bites social conflict in Swiss albino mice does not involve opioid and GABA-benzodiazepine (GABA-BZD) mechanisms. In addition, they suggest that high-intensity social conflict activates serotonergic pain modulatory systems that act through 5-HT1A receptors.

Analgesia↗

Kainate microinjection into the dorsal raphe nucleus induces 5-HT release in the amygdala and periaqueductal gray.

Earlier results obtained in one of our laboratories showed that microinjection into the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) of the excitatory amino acid kainic acid, the benzodiazepine (BZD) inverse agonist FG 7142, and the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OHDPAT changed the behavior of rats in the elevated T-maze, an animal model of anxiety. The present study investigates biochemical correlates of these results in awake rats by measuring 5-HT release with in vivo microdialysis in two brain structures innervated by the DRN-the amygdala (Am) and the dorsal periaqueductal gray matter (DPAG)-that have been implicated in anxiety. Microinjection of kainic acid (60 pmol) into the DRN significantly increased 5-HT release in both the Am and the DPAG. In the DPAG, the increase was 14-fold higher with respect to the baseline and occurred only at the first sample, which was collected 30 min after the injection. In the Am, the increase was less pronounced (nearly fourfold) but persistent, lasting until the fourth sample, which was collected 120 min from the injection. FG 7142 (40 pmol) and 8-OH-DPAT (8 nmol) were ineffective. Because only intra-DRN kainate both increased inhibitory avoidance and decreased one-way escape in the elevated T-maze, the present behavioral results support the suggestion that 5-HT facilitates conditioned fear in the Am and inhibits unconditioned fear in the DPAG.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗

Role of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor subtypes in the two types of fear generated by the elevated T-maze.

To study the role of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor subtypes in anxiety, the behavioral effects of drugs that either block or stimulate these receptors were measured in an animal model of anxiety, the elevated T-maze. One arm of the maze is enclosed by walls and stands perpendicular to the two open arms. Inhibitory (passive) avoidance--representing learned fear--was measured by placing a rat at the end of the enclosed arm and recording the time to leave this arm with the four paws during three consecutive trials. After 30 s, the same animal was placed at the end of one of the open arms and the time to leave this arm with the four paws was recorded. This one-way escape response represents unconditioned fear. The I.P. injection of the preferential 5-HT2C receptor agonists mCPP and TFMPP (0.1-0.8 mg/kg), 25 min before the experimental session enhanced inhibitory avoidance. In contrast, the same drugs either tended to impair (mCPP) or significantly inhibited (TFMPP) one-way escape. The preferential 5-HT2A agonist DOI (0.03-0.3 mg/kg) did not change either inhibitory avoidance or one-way escape. Inhibitory avoidance was impaired by the selective 5-HT2C antagonists SB 200646A (3.0-30 mg/kg) and SDZ SER 082 (0.1-1.0 mg/kg), by the 5-HT2A antagonist SR 46349B (1.0-10.0 mg/kg), and by the mixed 5-HT(2A,2C) antagonist ritanserin (0.3-3.0 mg/kg). However, it was not affected by the selective 5-HT2A antagonist RP 62203 (0.25-4.0 mg/kg). All the 5-HT2 antagonists used were ineffective on one-way escape. Therefore, conditioned fear seems to be tonically facilitated through 5-HT2C receptor stimulation, although the 5-HT2A receptor may also participate in its regulation. Unconditioned fear might be phasically inhibited by 5-HT2C receptor activation.

Animals↗

Dual role of 5-HT in defense and anxiety.

Pharmacological results obtained in animals tested in approach/avoidance conflict situations have led to the suggestion that 5-HT enhances anxiety by acting on forebrain structures. In contrast, results with intracerebral drug injection associated with aversive electrical brain stimulation indicate that 5-HT inhibits aversion in the dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG). To reconcile this evidence, it has been suggested that 5-HT may enhance conditioned fear in the amygdala while inhibiting innate fear in the DPAG. To test this hypothesis, we used three drug treatments known to increase the release of 5-HT from terminals of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR): (1) intra-DR microinjection of the benzodiazepine inverse agonist FG 7142, (2) intra-DR microinjection of the excitatory amino acid kainic acid and (3) intraperitoneal injection of the 5-HT releaser and uptake blocker D-fenfluramine. All drug treatments enhanced inhibitory avoidance (learned fear) in the elevated T-maze, a new animal model of anxiety. Intra-raphe kainate and D-fenfluramine also decreased one-way escape (innate fear) in the T-maze. In contrast, reduction of 5-HT release by intra-DR injection of 8-OH-DPAT impaired inhibitory avoidance without affecting one-way escape. Overall, these results agree with the above hypothesis. Clinical implications are discussed, especially with regard to panic disorder.

Aggression↗

Bilateral ablation of the auditory cortex in the rat alters conditioned emotional suppression to a sound as appraised through a latent inhibition study.

Latent inhibition consists of a retardation of conditioning seen when the to be conditioned stimulus is presented a number of times with no other consequence. This phenomenon likely reflects processes of selective attention whereby irrelevant stimuli come to be ignored. Using physiological models for auditory attention, some investigators have suggested that selective attention acts as a filtering mechanism capable of inhibiting or gating unattended stimuli relative to attended ones in the auditory cortex. In the present work, an on-baseline conditioned suppression response procedure was used to study the effects of stimulus preexposure in rats submitted to bilateral auditory cortex ablation. Our results indicate that both auditory cortex lesioned and control animals exhibit latent inhibition to a sound. However, learning after preexposure to that sound was particularly slow in animals with bilateral auditory cortex lesion, i.e. in these animals, the latent inhibition effect appeared to be enhanced. Conditioning from one day to the next also varied slightly. Thus, the auditory cortex appears to modulate learning when the conditioned stimulus is a sound.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Serotonergic systems.

Since its identification in neurons of the central nervous systems (CNS), serotonin (5-HT) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These findings have stimulated research on brain 5-HT pathways, especially during the last two decades as more selective drugs have been introduced into medical practice. This article reviews selected topics relevant for psychiatry.

Animals↗

Behavioral validation of the elevated T-maze, a new animal model of anxiety.

The elevated T-maze test of anxiety has been used to separate in the same rat conditioned from unconditioned responses of fear/anxiety. The test apparatus consists of three elevated arms-one enclosed and two open. Inhibitory avoidance--representing learned fear--is measured by recording the time taken to leave the enclosed arm in three consecutive trials. Unconditioned fear is evaluated by recording the time to escape from the open arm. In this study we investigated procedural questions raised by the use of the elevated T-maze. Experiment 1 showed that restraining the animals at the end of the enclosed arm for 30 s did not change the first (baseline) latency to leave this arm, indicating that aversion for the hands of the experimenter is not a key motivation for this response. The results of Experiment 2 indicated that open-arm experience, but not handling stress is the main cause for inhibitory avoidance acquisition, because rats trained in a T-maze with the three arms enclosed did not show the usual increase in withdrawal latency along the three consecutive trials. The same experiment also showed that the latency to leave the open arm did not undergo habituation over five consecutive trials, evidencing an aversive motivation for this response. The importance of open-arm experience for inhibitory avoidance acquisition was further suggested by the results of Experiment 3, as the removal of a shield that prevents perception of openness tended to increase avoidance latency in the elevated T-maze from the first trial.

Animals↗