Plasma levels of corticosterone and testosterone after sexual activity in male rats treated neonatally with clomipramine

Abstract

Neonatal treatment with clomipramine (CMI) in rats, induces alterations of pleasure-seeking behaviors during adulthood. Alterations of hormonal responses to stressful situations have also been reported. In this study, the levels of corticosterone and testosterone in response to sexual activity were assessed in rats treated neonatally with CMI. Male pups received subcutaneous injections of CMI (15 mg/kg, 0.1 ml), twice a day (09.00 hours and 18.00 hours) from 8 to 21 days of age. A control group received saline in the same number of injections. Four months after CMI treatment, subjects (Ss) were submitted to the forced swim test to verify the effect of CMI. Thereafter, they were tested to assess their spontaneous sexual activity. Plasma levels of corticosterone and testosterone were assessed under different conditions. Results of sexual behavior and the forced swim test corroborate the depressive-like effect of CMI. The sole presence of an estrogenized stimulus female caused an increase in plasma levels of testosterone in both control and CMI-treated Ss. The same was true for corticosterone; however, this increase was significantly lower in the CMI-treated group. There is a discrepancy between the normal hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) response and the decreased sexual behavior. The data suggest that CMI induces permanent changes in the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Hippocampal upregulation of the cyclooxygenase-2 gene following neonatal clomipramine treatment (a model of depression)

“…The pharmacological animal model of depression used here, previously described in the literature, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] was validated by behavioral tests and by assessing BDNF, a molecule related to depression. 24,25 We studied the expression of the COX-2 gene and the localization of its protein, finding an increase in COX-2 levels, which was consistent with previous reports of activation of the immune system in depression disorders.…”

Antidepressant-like effects of Tagetes lucida Cav. in the forced swimming test

“…In order to analyze whether Tagetes lucida induces adverse effects on male sexual behavior (MSB), rats were placed in a circular Plexiglas arena (45 cm diameter) for 5 min for habituation before the introduction of a stimulus female artificially brought into estrus with a sequential treatment of 10 g of estradiol benzoate (in 0.1 ml corn oil 48 h before testing, sc) plus 1 mg of progesterone 44 h later (Bonilla-Jaime et al, 2003). Sexual behavior tests were performed during the dark phase of the cycle (3 h after lights off) and under a dim red light.…”

Activation of physiological stress responses by a natural reward: Novel vs. repeated sucrose intake

“…This suggests that naturally-rewarding behaviors may also activate physiological stress responses that could then promote further engagement in that type of behavior. Consistent with this idea, sexual activity evokes HPA axis activation [53, 54] and the magnitude of the HPA response varies with degree of sexual experience [55, 56]. Additionally, sexual activity can also evoke increases in heart rate and blood pressure [57–61], and in neuronal activation [62, 63].…”