Chronic Lithium Treatment Affects Anxious Behaviors and theExpression of Serotonergic Genes in Midbrain Raphe Nuclei of Defeated Male Mice.

ABSTRACT: There is experimental evidence that chronic social defeat stress is accompanied by the development of an anxiety, development of a depression-like state, and downregulation of serotonergic genes in midbrain raphe nuclei of male mice. Our study was aimed at investigating the effects of chronic lithium chloride (LiCl) administration on anxiety behavior and the expression of serotonergic genes in midbrain raphe nuclei of the affected mice. A pronounced anxiety-like state in male mice was induced by chronic social defeat stress in daily agonistic interactions. After 6 days of this stress, defeated mice were chronically treated with saline or LiCl (100 mg/kg, i.p., 2 weeks) during the continuing agonistic interactions. Anxiety was assessed by behavioral tests. RT-PCR was used to determine Tph2,

SUBMITTER: Smagin DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8533389 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature