Attenuation of fear-like response by escitalopram treatment after electrical stimulation of the midbrain dorsolateral periaqueductal gray

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• 作者：Lee Wei Lim ; Arjan Blokl ; Sonny Tan ; Rinske Vlamings ; Thibaut Sesia ; Mujzgan Aziz-Mohammadi ; Veerle Visser-V ; ewalle ; Harry W.M. Steinbusch ; Koen Schruers ; Yasin Temel
• 关键词：Panic disorder ; Agoraphobia ; Anticipatory anxiety ; Electrical stimulation ; Periaqueductal gray
• 刊名：Experimental Neurology
• 出版年：2010
• 出版时间：December 2010
• 年：2010
• 卷：226
• 期：2
• 页码：293-300
• 全文大小：862 K

文摘

Electrical stimulation of the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray (dlPAG) has frequently been shown to induce escape and freezing/decreased locomotion responses which mimic panic- and fear-like behaviour. In the present study we tested whether such spontaneous fear-like behaviour could be observed in an open-field test 12 h after dlPAG stimulation. Further, we tested whether this fear-like behaviour could be attenuated by acute or chronic administration of buspirone and escitalopram. Our data demonstrate for the first time that animals showed fear-like behaviour 12 h after dlPAG stimulation, which may possibly reflect panic disorder with anticipatory anxiety/agoraphobic symptoms. Acute and chronic escitalopram, but not buspirone, treatment attenuated the fear-related behaviour. Besides, our data also showed that the stimulation intensities to evoke an escape reaction, a panicogenic response, were significantly higher after chronic buspirone and escitalopram treatment. These results suggest that the fear-like response, which was observed 12 h after dlPAG stimulation, could be considered as a relevant animal model for panic disorder with anticipatory anxiety/agoraphobic symptoms.