Effects of Chronic Administration of Buspirone to Female Mice in Conditions of Prolonged Psychoemotional Stress

Abstract

The effects of chronic administration (30 days) of the partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist buspirone (0.05, 1, and 10 mg/kg i.p.) on the behavior of female C57BL/6 J mice in conditions of prolonged psychoemotional stress were studied. Stress was produced by keeping females in a cage with an aggressive male on the other side of a perforated partition, along with the daily occurrence of 10-min intermale confrontations between the aggressor and another male placed with it. Chronic administration of buspirone at all the doses tested had no effect on the behavior of the females assessed in the partition and open field tests at the end of the treatment period. The elevated plus maze test showed that buspirone had anxiolytic effects, but only at a dose of 1 mg/kg. In the Porsolt test, buspirone (1 mg/kg) produced a minor increase in the duration of immobility, pointing to some antidepressant effect. Thus, chronic administration of buspirone to females in conditions of prolonged psychoemotional stress had different effects on their behavior depending on the dose and test conditions.