Noise stress and the development of benzodiazepine dependence in the rat

Rats housed in conditions of noise stress were given daily injections of diazepam (4 mg/kg). Significant tolerance developed to the sedative effects within 5 days of treatment, as measured by head dipping and motor activity in the holeboard and by the number of closed arm entries in the plus-maze. These results are in agreement with other reports of rapid tolerance to sedative effects. However, in contrast to the usual finding of tolerance to anxiolytic actions after 2-3 weeks of treatment, in this study no tolerance developed after 23 days of treatment to diazepam's anxiolytic effects in the plus-maze. On withdrawal from the 23 days of diazepam treatment, there was no anxiogenic response in the plus-maze. Therefore, it seems that when chronic administration of diazepam is accompanied by chronic stress, tolerance does not occur to the anxiolytic effects, although it does develop to the sedative effects.