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Updated: Feb 2, 2026
A New Method for Inducing a Depression-Like Behavior in Rats
Published on: February 22, 2018
Changes in white matter and the effects of fluoxetine on such changes in the CUS rat model of depression
Yuan Gao1, Yao Yao1, Xin Liang2
1Department of Geriatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, PR China; Department of Histology and Embryology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, PR China; Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, PR China.
Objective:
To explore the pathogenesis of depression and the possible mechanism of the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on the myelinated fibers and myelin sheaths in the white matter during the antidepressant action of fluoxetine.
Methods:
In this study, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into a Control group, a group treated with CUS and no drugs (CUS/Standard group) and a group treated with CUS and fluoxetine (CUS/FLX group). The CUS/FLX group was treated with fluoxetine at dose of 5 mg/kg for 21 days. The white matter volume, the myelinated fiber parameters and the myelin sheath volume in the white matter were calculated from transmission electron microscope images through unbiased stereological methods.
Results:
The total volume and total length of myelinated fibers;and mean volume of white matter of the CUS/Standard group were significantly decreased compared to values from the control group (p = 0.025, p = 0.007, p = 0.000), whereas no significant differences in these stereological parameters were found between the CUS/Standard and CUS/FLX groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Fluoxetine successfully treated depression-like behavior but had no effects on the white matter or its component myelinated fibers in the CUS rat model of depression.
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