Effects of antidepressants on the EEG of the rat

The aim of the study was to detect whether antidepressants cause specific EEG effects in rats. The results presented are based on quantitative evaluation of a series of 6-min vigilance-controlled EEG recordings in rats under standardized conditions. Standard conditions comprised: a vigilance control, a rigid test procedure in which drugs and rats are divided according to a Greek-Latin square, and the same electrode placement. Computer analyses are based on an analysis of variance for which the averaged power spectral values are used as input. The use of a moving window technique in this type of EEG studies is introduced in comparison to the well-known use of fixed frequency bands. A number of antidepressants have been tested and several common characteristics are found.