Effects of chronic mild stress on performance in behavioural tests relevant to anxiety and depression

Chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stress (CMS) has previously been found to depress the consumption of a weak (1%) sucrose solution by rats. This effect was confirmed in each of three experiments in the present study, following which behaviour was examined in other tests relevant to either depression or anxiety. CMS did not significantly affect behaviour in the social interaction test and caused an anxiolytic-like profile in the elevated plus-maze. CMS increased submissive behaviour in the resident-intruder test, and decreased male sexual behaviour. The latter effect was more pronounced in animals reared in isolation from the time of weaning; isolation rearing did not influence sexual behaviour in nonstressed animals. Isolation rearing also potentiated the effect of CMS on sucrose drinking, in both male and female rats. These results support the relevance of the CMS procedure as a potential animal model of depression.