[Effect of desipramine and social isolation on neuronal activity in rat hippocampus]

Chronic treatment of rats with desipramine leads to an increase of hippocampal neurons with low spontaneous activity. After an isolation rearing period of three months an increased spontaneous activity is seen in the hippocampus of rats. Furthermore the hippocampal spontaneous activity is related to age. Opposite alterations of spontaneous activity in desipramine treated and socially isolated rats, respectively, as well as their relations to noradrenergic transmission processes are discussed. The isolation syndrome as a model to test substances with antidepressive properties is also reviewed.