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Abstract
We subjected Wistar rats to the forced swim test (FST) to compare the effects of two
doses of imipramine in physically stressed rats (P: unavoidable electric footshocks),
emotionally stressed rats (E: odors), or non-stressed rats (C). Stress or control
sessions lasted 35 days. Drug treatments began on day 21 and continued for the next
14 days. E rats were placed for 10 min, once per day for 35 days, in a small non-movement-restricting
cage impregnated with urine collected from a P rat. E and P rats exhibited opposite
changes in locomotion. After 21 days of stress sessions, P rats displayed the longest
immobility times in the FST, followed by E rats. In the P group, on day 7 of treatment
(day 28 of the study), imipramine (2.5 mg/kg) reduced immobility time to baseline
values. In the E group, immobility time decreased only after 14 days of treatment
with the low imipramine dose. The high dose of imipramine (5.0 mg/kg) reduced immobility
time at day 7 of treatment in all groups. In conclusion, physical and emotional stress
similarly increased immobility time in the FST, but emotional stress appears to be
more resistant to imipramine treatment.