Affiliations: Department of Neuroscience and Neurology, University
of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland | Orion Corporation, Orion Pharma, Turku, Finland | Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Kuopio
and Brain Research and Rehabilitation Center Neuron, Kuopio, Finland
Note: [] Corresponding author: Jukka Jolkkonen, PhD, Department of
Neuroscience and Neurology, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1627, SF-70211 Kuopio,
Finland. Phone: +358-17-162519; Fax. +358-17-162048; email.
jukka.jolkkonen@uku.fi
Abstract: Purpose: The present study investigated the effects of fluoxetine, a
serotonin reuptake blocker, on behavioral deficits of rats subjected to
transient focal cerebral ischemia. Methods: The right middle cerebral artery of
rats was occluded for 120 min using the intraluminal filament method.
Fluoxetine treatment (5 mg/kg, i.p.) was started 2 days after ischemia
induction and treatment was continued for 10 days thereafter. Sensorimotor
recovery was assessed using the limb-placing test and cognitive impairment was
assessed using a water-maze test at the end of the experiment. Results:
Fluoxetine treatment did not improve performance of ischemic rats in the
limb-placing test. Nor was the ischemia-induced deficit in the water-maze test
affected by fluoxetine. The infarct volumes in the cortex or striatum,
determined after the experiment, were not different between ischemic groups.
Conclusion: These results suggest that subchronic fluoxetine treatment
following experimental focal cerebral ischemia is not detrimental to behavioral
outcome, but it also does not enhance spontaneous sensorimotor recovery or
attenuate spatial learning deficits.
Keywords: behavioral deficits, focal cerebral ischemia, recovery of function, serotonin
