Lithium not only has a mood-stabilizing effect but also the augmentation effect of an antidepressant, the mechanism of which remains unclear. Although lithium may augment the effect of mirtazapine, this augmentation has not been confirmed. Using a contextual fear conditioning test in rats, an animal model of anxiety or fear, we examined the effect of subchronic lithium carbonate (in diet) in co...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Alteration in the serotonin leads to the psychological illness, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorders and migraines. The objective of the current study was to investigate the antidepressant and anxiolytic activities of N-(pyridin-3-yl) quinoxalin-2-carboxamide (QCF-21), a novel 5-HT3receptor antagonis...

objective: the nucleus accumbens (nac) receive histaminergic neurons from tuberomammillary nuclei. there are reports indicating that central histamine systems are involved in many physiological behavioral processes, including anxiety. the aim of the present study was to assess whether the histaminergic system of the nac is involved in anxiety-related behaviors. methods:   rats   were   anesthet...

Mirtazapine, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA), blocks the α2-adrenergic autoreceptors and heteroreceptors, which are responsible for controlling noradrenaline and 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT) release. Though preclinical and clinical studies have shown that mirtazapine exerts an anxiolytic action, its precise brain target sites remain unclear. In the present study,...

A mixture of eight fatty acids (linoleic, palmitic, stearic, myristic, elaidic, lauric, oleic, and palmitoleic acids) at similar concentrations identified in human amniotic fluid produces anxiolytic-like effects comparable to diazepam in Wistar rats. However, individual effects of each fatty acid remain unexplored. In Wistar rats, we evaluated the separate action of each fatty acid at the corre...

objective: nano components are today’s new wonder material. however, the safety or toxicity of these components in humans is not yet clear. in a previous study we indicated that nano zno (nzno) has a stronger anxiolytic effect compared to the conventional zno (czno). the present study was designed to evaluate the intraperitoneal administration of an opioidergic receptor agonist and antagonist o...

The aim of this study was to explore effects on anxiety-like behavior of D1 dopamine receptor agonist, SKF-38393, and of D1 dopamine receptor antagonist, SCH-23390, given alone or in combination with a low dose of 17β-estradiol (17β-E2) to ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Two weeks after surgery, OVX rats began 14 days of treatment with the vehicle, a low dose of 17 β -E2 (5.0 μg/rat, s.c.), SKF-3839...

A bovine alpha s1-casein tryptic hydrolysate was previously demonstrated to display an anxiolytic-like activity in the conditioned defensive burying and in the elevated plus-maze models when i.p. injected. The present study assessed the anxiolytic-like effects of this tryptic hydrolysate after an oral administration in rats faced to the same behavioural situations using diazepam as a reference....

Tetrahydroprotoberberines (THPBs) are isoquinoline alkaloids isolated from the Chinese herb Corydalis yanhusuo. In the present study, we performed competitive binding assays to examine the binding of l-THBr to neurotransmitter receptors known to be involved in sedation, hypnosis and anxiety. Our results show that l-THBr does not interact with GABAergic receptors but has binding affinities for d...

The phytoestrogen genistein produces anxiolytic-like effects in ovariectomized rats, which highlights its potential therapeutic effect in ameliorating anxiety in surgical menopausal women. However, no studies have directly compared the effects of identical doses of genistein and 17β-estradiol, the main estrogen used in hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women. The present study evaluated...