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R D Porsolt

Publications and source records attributed to R D Porsolt.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Behavioural despair in rats: a new model sensitive to antidepressant treatments.

Rats when forced to swim in a cylinder from which they cannot escape will, after an initial period of vigorous activity, adopt a characteristic immobile posture which can be readily identified. Immobility was reduced by various clinically effective antidepressant drugs at doses which otherwise decreased spontaneous motor activity in an open field. Antidepressants could thus be distinguished from psychostimulants which decreased immobility at doses which increased general activity. Anxiolytic compounds did not affect immobility whereas major tranquilisers enhanced it. Immobility was also reduced by electroconvulsive shock, REM sleep deprivation and "enrichment" of the environment. It was concluded that immobility reflects a state of lowered mood in the rat which is selectively sensitive to antidepressant treatments. Positive findings with atypical antidepressant drugs such as iprindole and mianserin suggest that the method may be capable of discovering new antidepressants hitherto undetectable with classical pharmacological tests.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Behavioral despair in mice: a primary screening test for antidepressants.

A depressed state can be induced in mice by forcing them to swim in a narrow cylinder from which they cannot escape. After a brief period of vigorous activity the mice adopt a characteristic immobile posture which is readily identifiable. Immobility was reduced by tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and atypical antidepressants, as well as by electroconvulsive shock. Psychostimulants also reduced immobility but in contrast to antidepressants caused marked motor stimulation. Immobility was not affected by minor or major tranquilisers. These findings, closely parallel to those we have previously reported in rats, suggest that the procedure is selectively sensitive to antidepressant treatments. The mouse procedure is, however, more rapid and less costly than that with rats and is thus more suitable for the primary screening of antidepressant drugs.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Inter-group aggression in mice: a new method for testing the effects of centrally active drugs.

A new method is described with which the effects of drugs on aggressive behaviour can be compared with their effects on general activity. Two groups of 3 male mice are housed in either half of a macrolon living cage which is divided down the middle by a non-transparent barrier. After 21 days the cage is placed on an activity meter and the dividing wall is removed. The ensuing fighting is scored by an observer and at the same time activity is measured using the activity meter. It was shown that aggression occurred mainly between groups with the dominant members doing most of the fighting. It appeared further that the two parameters measured--aggression and motor activity--respond differentially to the effects of standard psychotropic drugs. By this means it was possible to distinguish between the effects of chlorpromazine, pentobarbitone, chlordiazepoxide and d-amphetamine. In addition it was possible to confirm that an experimental compound, YG 19-256, which in other tests has been shown to inhibit aggressive behaviour without causing general sedation, also has selective anti-aggressive effects in this test. From these results it seems that the intergroup aggression test could well be useful in identifying different classes of psychotropic agents.

Aggression↗