Bupropion induced changes in exploratory and anxiety-like behaviour in NMRI male mice depends on the age

• Published in: Behavioural processes 2013-09, Vol.98, p.117-124
• Main Authors: Carrasco, M. Carmen, Vidal, Jose, Redolat, Rosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescence; adolescents; adults; Aging - psychology; Animal ethology; animal models; Animals; antidepressants; Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation - pharmacology; Anxiety; Anxiety - chemically induced; Biological and medical sciences; Bupropion; Bupropion - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Elevated plus-maze; Exploratory Behavior - drug effects; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Hole-board; Male; males; Maze Learning - drug effects; Mice; Novelty-seeking; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0376-6357; 1872-8308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.05.002

•Age impacts in behaviour displayed by mice both in the plus-maze and hole-board.•In the plus-maze, adolescent mice are more sensitive to bupropion than adults.•Bupropion induces an anxiogenic-like effect in the plus-maze in adolescent mice.•In the hole-board, adolescents and adults display similar sensitivity to bupropion.•Bupropion reduces exploratory activity in the hole-board task. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the antidepressant bupropion on anxiety and novelty-seeking in adolescent mice of different ages and adults. Behavioural differences between early adolescent, late adolescent and adult NMRI mice were measured both in the elevated plus-maze and the hole-board tasks following acute administration of bupropion (5, 10, 15, 20mg/kg) or saline. In the plus maze test, early and late adolescent mice treated with bupropion (10, 15mg/kg, respectively) had lower percentages of entries in the open-arms compared to their vehicle controls. Adult mice treated with bupropion did not differ from their vehicle controls. These results suggest that the effect of this drug on anxiety-like behaviour in mice depends on the age, showing adolescents an anxiogenic-like profile. In the hole-board, adolescents showed more elevated levels of novelty-seeking than adults, exhibiting shorter latency to the first head-dip (HD) and a higher number of HD's. Bupropion increases the latency to the first HD and decreases the number of HD's in all age-groups, indicating a decline in exploratory tendency. Findings reveal that the age can modulate the behaviour displayed by mice in both animal models, and that adolescents are more sensitive to bupropion's anxiogenic effects.