Journal
NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
Volume 91, Issue -, Pages 97-102Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.12.025
Keywords
Depression; Flinders sensitive line; Noradrenaline; Positron emission tomography; Yohimbine
Categories
Funding
- Th. Maigaards Eftf. Fru Lily Benthine Lunds Fond
- Aarhus University Hospital Department of Nuclear Medicine
- PET Center
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Depression is a debilitating heterogenous disorder and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Alterations in monoaminergic neurotransmission, including noradrenergic, have been implicated in the etiology of depression. Although depression is difficult to model in animals, the availability of animal models with face, predictive and construct validity permits more in-depth investigations resulting in a greater understanding of the disease. We investigated the role of noradrenaline (NA) and alpha 2 adrenoceptors in vivo in a genetic model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rat. We determined baseline differences in NA receptor volume of distribution to alpha 2 adrenoceptors in FSL, in comparison with two routinely used controls, Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and the carbon-11 labeled radioligand yohimbine. We demonstrate a 42-47% reduction in the binding of the tracer in the cortex, striatum, cerebellum, thalamus and pons of FSL rats compared to the two control groups. Our results suggest that the behavioral deficits expressed in the FSL depression model are associated with functional over-activity of the NA system. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available