Objective: To study the changes of monoamine transmitter content in hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex in anxious depression model rats and the expression trend of neurotrophic factors in the brain, and to explore its possible pathogenesis.
Method: 60 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, vehicle control group, anxiety model group, depression model group, and anxiety depression model group, with 12 rats in each group. An anxious depression rat model was established by chronic restraint stress combined with corticosterone injection. The modeling time was 21 days. After modeling, the elevated plus maze test, open field test, and forced swimming test were used to evaluate the anxiety and depression of rats The HPLC-ECD method was used to detect the monoamine transmitter 5-HT, NE, and DA contents in the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex of rats, and the western blot method was used to detect the levels of neurotrophic factors BDNF and NT-3 in various brain regions of rats. content.
Results: Rats in the anxious depression model group had the same amount of time, times of entering the open arm, and the number of autonomous activities in the open field, which were comparable to those of the anxiety group, and were significantly different from the control and depression groups (P<0.01 or P<0.05) , The immobility time in forced swimming increased significantly, compared with the control group and the anxiety group, the difference was significant (P<0.01); at the same time, compared with the control group, the hippocampal 5-HT and amygdala of the anxious depression model group The content of 5-HT and NE in the prefrontal cortex area was significantly decreased (P<0.01 or P<0.05); in addition, compared with the control group, the content of BDNF and NT-3 in each brain area of the anxiety depression model group was significantly decreased (P<0.01 or P<0.05), and compared with the anxiety group, the BDNF content was significantly decreased (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Rats in the anxious depression model group have significant anxiety and depression-like behaviors. The pathogenesis may be related to the decrease of monoamine transmitter content in the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex in the brain, as well as neurotrophic factors BDNF and NT-3 The expression is down-regulated.