Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Social Isolation Model: A Noninvasive Rodent Model of Stress and Anxiety
Published on: November 11, 2022
Effects of antidepressants on the exploration, spontaneous motor activity and isolation-induced aggressiveness in
Jianhui Liang1, Xiaoping Wang, Ying Lu
1National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100083, China. liangjh@hotmail.com
Objective:
To study the role of different antidepressants on exploration, spontaneous motor activity and isolation-induced aggressiveness in mice, further to discuss different mechanisms of their anti-aggression.
Methods:
With an aggressive model induced by isolation housing in mice, antagonism of different antidepressants against isolation-induced aggression was evaluated. In the group-housed mice given the same treatment as aggressive test, exploration and spontaneous motor activity were measured.
Results:
(1) Mianserin (0.5-5 mg/kg-1), buspirone (2.5-10 mg.kg-1) and meclobemide (2.5-10 mg.kg-1) significantly inhibited the exploration in the group-housed mice, but not fluoxetine (2.5-10 mg.kg-1), imipramine (2.5-10 mg.kg-1) and DOI (0.5-2 mg.kg-1); (2) Both mianserin and buspirone, but not fluoxetine, imipramine, meclobemide and DOI, obviously reduced spontaneous motor activity; (3) Fluoxetine, miaserin, imipramine and buspirone significantly and dose-dependently antagonized isolation-induced aggressive behavior, whereas meclobemide failed to attenuate aggression. DOI dual-regulated aggressiveness in isolation mice.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that the effects of fluoxetine, mianserin, buspirone, imipramine, meclobemide and DOI on exploration, spontaneous motor activity and isolation-induced aggression in mice are different, which may involve different pharmacological mechanisms underlying their anti-aggression in isolation mice. 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A/2C receptors may mediate isolation-induced aggressive behavior in mice. The involvement of 5-HT receptor subtypes needs further clarification.
