Nitric oxide involvement in the antidepressant-like effect of ketamine in the Flinders sensitive line rat model of depression
Acta Neuropsychiatrica April 1, 2015 Nico Liebenberg, Sâmia R L Joca, Gregers Wegener
Pre-treatment with L-arginine, a nitric oxide precursor, blocked the antidepressant-like effect of ketamine in a genetic rat model of depression. Ketamine alone reduced immobility in the forced swim test and increased cGMP levels in the frontal cortex and hippocampus, but L-arginine prevented both effects. Ketamine also reduced constitutive nitric oxide synthase activity in the hippocampus, though this was not reversed by L-arginine. The results suggest the nitric oxide signaling pathway contributes to ketamine's antidepressant action.