Fig. 3. Chronic antidepressant treatments deteriorate the external physiological stress-coping response of mice. (A) Experimental design of chronic administration with saline (Veh), imipramine (IMI), or fluoxetine (FLX) following treatment with restraint for 2 or 6 h daily for 3 consecutive days (RST, 2h×3d; RST, 6h×3d), and subsequent assessment of physiological responses. CON, untreated mice. (B~D) Extent of physiological symptoms presenting on the coat (B), lips (C), and nose (D), among mice treated with chronic IMI or FLX, and mice treated with chronic Veh, IMI or FLX followed by 2h×3d RST. CON, untreated mice. External physiological symptoms were evaluated using a rating scale of 0~3 as described in the Materials and Methods. (E, F) Number of defecation boli in the novel open field environment, among mice treated with chronic IMI or FLX, and mice treated with chronic Veh, IMI or FLX followed by 2h×3d RST. CON, untreated mice. (F) Enlarged small intestine of mice treated with chronic FLX followed by 6h×3d RST. White arrow heads indicate parts of the small intestine clogged with defecation materials (E). Data are presented as the mean±SEM (n=4~8 animals for external physiological symptoms; n=9~10 animals for antidepressant-induced constipation). * and **denote differences from the CON group, at p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively. ##denotes differences from the Veh+RST group; §§denotes differences from the IMI group, at p<0.01. Two-way ANOVA and Newman-Keuls post hoc test was used.
© Exp Neurobiol
