Paradoxical effect of imipramine in hyperprolactinemic female rats exposed to the forced swimming test

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effect of hyperprolactinemia, with high or low estrogen levels, on the response to imipramine in the forced swimming test. Three groups of female rats were studied: (1) ovariectomized controls, with low serum prolactin (PRL) and estrogen levels, (2) ovariectomized, estrogen-treated rats, with high PRL and high estrogen levels, and (3) pituitary-grafted rats, with high PRL and low estrogen levels. The hyperprolactinemic groups did not show significant behavioral changes in the forced swimming test preceded by saline injection. Imipramine decreased the immobility time by 37.5% in ovariectomized controls but not in the pituitary-grafted group, and there was an increment of 48.4% in immobility time following imipramine administration in the estrogen-treated group ( p < 0.05). This paradoxical response to imipramine was significantly correlated with serum PRL ( r = 0.59, p < 0.01) but not with estradiol levels. These findings suggest that, at least in female rats submitted to the forced swimming model, PRL may induce reversed behavioral effects in response to imipramine, independently of circulating estrogen levels.