Female rat sexual behavior is unaffected by perinatal fluoxetine exposure

Hegstad, Jan; Huijgens, Patty T.; Houwing, Danielle J.; Olivier, Jocelien; Heijkoop, Roy; Snoeren, Eelke M.S.

doi:10.1101/2020.05.29.122945

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…The data was collected from video recordings obtained in a previously performed experiment (Houwing et al 2019a). The materials and methods are therefore similar to our previous studies using data from the same experiment (Hegstad et al 2020; Heinla et al 2020; Houwing et al 2019a). However, the behavioral scoring scheme and the time window of observation was unique for the current study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The data was collected from video recordings obtained in a previously performed experiment (Houwing et al, 2019a). The materials and methods are therefore similar to those described previously (Hegstad et al, 2020;Heinla et al, 2020;Houwing et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, these studies do not account for the environmental and social complexity of real-world situations. To bypass these limitations, recent studies from our research group have employed a seminatural environment enabling rats to express many aspects of their natural behaviors (Hegstad et al 2020; Heinla et al 2020; Houwing et al 2019a). These studies showed that perinatal SSRI fluoxetine (FLX) exposure leads to various alterations in social and non-social behaviors in a naturalistic setting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Perinatal Fluoxetine Exposure on Novelty-induced Social and Non-Social Investigation Behaviors in a Seminatural Environment

Sylte¹,

Johansen²,

Heinla³

et al. 2021

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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are increasingly prescribed as medication for various affective disorders during pregnancy. SSRIs cross the placenta and affect serotonergic neurotransmission in the fetus, but the neurobehavioral consequences for the offspring remain largely unclear. Recent rodent research has linked perinatal SSRI exposure to alterations in both social and non-social aspects of behavior. However, this research has mainly focused on behavior within simplified environments. The current study investigates the effects of perinatal SSRI exposure on social and non-social investigation behaviors of adult rat offspring upon introduction to a novel seminatural environment with unknown conspecifics. During the perinatal period (gestational day 1 until postnatal day 21), rat dams received daily treatment with either an SSRI (fluoxetine, 10 mg/kg) or vehicle. Adult male and female offspring were observed within the first hour after introduction to a seminatural environment. The results showed that perinatal fluoxetine exposure altered aspects of non-social investigation behaviors, while not altering social investigation behaviors. More specific, both fluoxetine exposed males and females spent more total time on locomotor activity than controls. Furthermore, fluoxetine exposed females spent less time exploring objects and specific elements in the environment. The data suggest that perinatal exposure to SSRIs leads to a quicker, less detailed investigation strategy in novel environments, and that the alteration is mostly pronounced in females.

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