Metyrapone pretreatment prevents the behavioral and neurochemical sequelae induced by stress.

CALVO,N.; I.D. MARTIJENA; MOLINA VICTOR ALEJANDRO; VOLOSIN, M.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 1998 vol. 800 p. 227 - 227

n the present study, we examined the effect of metyrapone, an inhibitor of corticosterone (CS) synthesis, on the behavioral and neurochemical sequelae induced by a brief restraint session. A 15-min stress period induced an anxiogenic-like behavior on the elevated plus-maze (EPM), which was reversed with metyrapone (75 mg/kg i.p.) injected 3 h prior to the stress event. It was further demonstrated that metyrapone pretreatment normalized the decrease in maximal chloride uptake following GABA stimulation observed in brain cortex tissue obtained from animals exposed to both restraint and the EPM. In addition, plasma CS levels were assessed both after restraint and following EPM exposure. Furthermore, the administration of both CS (2.5 mg/kg s.c. at a dose that mimics CS levels induced by restraint) or dexamethasone (DEXA, 1.25 ìg/kg s.c) resulted in an anxiogenic response in the EPM comparable to that induced by restraint. Taken together, all these evidence suggest that CS released in res