Long-term Effects of Aripiprazole Treatment during Adolescence on Cognitive Function and Dopamine D2 Receptor Expression in Neurodevelopmentally Normal Rats
Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
; : 400-408, 2019.
Article
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| ID: wpr-763553
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ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of aripiprazole treatment during adolescence on behavior, cognitive function, and dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) expression in adult rats. METHODS: Adolescent male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally with aripiprazole, risperidone, or vehicle control for 3 weeks (postnatal day 36–56). After a 2-week washout period, locomotion, anxiety, and spatial working memory were evaluated in adulthood (postnatal day 71–84), using an open field test, elevated plus maze, and Y-maze, respectively. In addition, we assessed D2R levels in the dorsolateral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsal and ventral striatum, and hippocampus using western blot analysis. RESULTS: Spontaneous alternation performance (SAP) in the Y-maze, a measure of spatial working memory, differed significantly among the 3 groups (F = 3.89, p = 0.033). A post-hoc test confirmed that SAP in the aripiprazole group was significantly higher than that in the risperidone group (post-hoc test p = 0.013). D2R levels in the medial PFC (F = 8.72, p = 0.001) and hippocampus (F = 13.54, p < 0.001) were different among the 3 groups. D2R levels in the medial PFC and hippocampus were significantly lower in the aripiprazole-treated rats than that in the risperidone-treated rats (post-hoc test p = 0.025 and p < 0.001, respectively) and controls (post-hoc test p < 0.001, all). CONCLUSION: This study showed that aripiprazole treatment in adolescence could influence cognitive function and dopaminergic neurotransmission into early adulthood.
Key words
Full text:
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Index:
WPRIM
Main subject:
Anxiety
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Dopamine
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Blotting, Western
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Receptors, Dopamine D2
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Prefrontal Cortex
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Cognition
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Synaptic Transmission
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Risperidone
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Models, Animal
Limits:
Animals
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Humans
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Male
Journal:
Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
Year:
2019
Type:
Article