Learned helplessness decreases [3H]imipramine binding in rat cortex

Specific binding of [3H]imipramine decreased in frontal neocortex from rats demonstrating learned helplessness, an animal model of depression. The decrease was in maximal binding but not in affinity for the receptor site. No change in [3H]imipramine binding was found in septum or hippocampus. The receptor changes found in frontal neocortex parallel behavioral and neurochemical changes produced by learned helplessness in this region. These changes are also similar to those found in the frontal neocortex from suicides and in platelets of patients with depression.