The effects of phencyclidine (PCP) on anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and the light-dark exploration test are age dependent, sexually dimorphic, and task dependent.
Sarah M Turgeon, Daniel S. H. Kim, Melissa Pritchard, Sanjay Salgado, Alison Thaler
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior November 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.08.017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male and female rats (young adult and adult) |
| Intervention | Phencyclidine (PCP) |
| Dose | 15 mg/kg |
| Duration | Two-week withdrawal period |
| Measures | elevated plus maze (EPM), light-dark exploration (LD) test, corticosterone levels |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Key findings | PCP pretreatment produces sexually dimorphic effects on anxiety in adult rats (decreased anxiety in females, increased in males) and age-dependent, test-dependent effects in younger animals. |
Abstract
Previous research in our laboratory revealed sexually dimorphic effects of prior exposure to phencyclidine (PCP) on elevated plus maze behavior. In an attempt to examine the developmental time course of this effect and determine the extent to which it generalizes to other anxiety paradigms, young adult (61-64 days old) and adult (96-107 days old) male and female rats were treated with PCP (15 mg/kg) or saline. Following a two week withdrawal period, animals were tested in either the elevated plus maze (EPM) or a light-dark exploration (LD) test. In adults, both tests revealed a sexually dimorphic effect driven by PCP-induced decreases in anxiety in females as indicated by increased time spent in the open arms of the EPM and in the lit compartment of the LD test and increased anxiety in males as indicated by decreased time spent in the lit compartment of the LD. In young animals, PCP pretreatment decreased open arm exploration in the elevated plus maze, indicating increased anxiety. However, PCP increased time spent in the light compartment in the light-dark exploration test, indicating decreased anxiety. Corticosterone levels measured 15 min after the onset of the EPM failed to reveal an association between the behavioral effects of PCP and corticosterone levels. The results in adults substantiate the previously observed sexually dimorphic effect of PCP on elevated plus maze behavior in adults and indicate that the effect generalizes to another anxiety paradigm. The results in the younger animals suggest an age dependent effect of PCP on anxiety in general and indicate that behaviors in the elevated plus maze and the light-dark exploration test reflect dissociable psychobiological states.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine on Rat Behaviors Relevant to Anxiety and Depression Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats | 2018 | Experimental study | |
| Chronic, Intermittent Microdoses of the Psychedelic N , N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Produce Positive Effects on Mood and Anxiety in Rodents Male rats | 2019 | Animal study | |
| 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine facilitates fear extinction learning Mice | 2015 | Preclinical experimental study | |
| Repeated lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) reverses stress-induced anxiety-like behavior, cortical synaptogenesis deficits and serotonergic neurotransmission decline Male mice exposed to chronic restraint stress | 2022 | Preclinical experimental study |
Citations in the library
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- Understanding the role of the NMDA receptor subunit, GluN2D, in mediating NMDA receptor antagonist-induced behavioral disruptions in male and female mice. Journal of Neuroscience Research 2024
- The novel psychoactive substance methoxetamine induces persistent behavioral abnormalities and neurotoxicity in rats Neuropharmacology 2019
- Perspectives on zebrafish models of hallucinogenic drugs and related psychotropic compounds. ACS Chemical Neuroscience August 6, 2013
Cites 6
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- Enhanced anxiety follows withdrawal from subchronic exposure to phencyclidine in rats. Behavioural Brain Research January 25, 2007
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and 1 more in the library