Empathy in mice: antidepressant behavioral effects of sertraline and imipramine in mice submitted to tail suspension test

• Grant number: 13/22284-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2014
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Physiological Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Azair Liane Matos Do Canto de Souza
• Grantee: Caroline Riberti Zaniboni
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The capacity for empathy is probably the major factor that contributes to the evolution of the human species. This ability to understand the other's emotion is related to several skills that humans possess and, likewise, empathic individuals tend to be more successful in personal and professional relationships. However, lack of empathy or excess can cause depression. Clinical and animal models evidence demonstrates that, in general, chronic pain may produce emotional changes, and some emotional disorders can cause chronic pain. Antidepressants are the drugs chosen for treating these emotional changes. Recent studies have demonstrated that other species, such as rodents, also have the capacity for empathy. Thereby, some studies demonstrated that mice living together with a conspecific with chronic pain, when evaluated in models of nociception exhibit increased nociceptive response, in other words, they present a response of empathy. The objective of this study is to evaluate if mice living together with a pair with chronic pain exhibit changes in depression-like behaviors, and the possible modulation by antidepressants imipramine and sertraline. For this, Swiss albino male mice will be submitted in three experiments: Experiment 1, the rodents will be caged in pairs during a period of 28 days. On the 14th day, one animal of the pair will be subjected to a sciatic nerve constriction surgery or not and, after surgery, the pair will continue living for more 14 days. After this period, all mice that lived with a pair with chronic pain or not will be tested by the tail suspension test (TST) to measure depression indices, latency for immobility, and total immobility time during 6 minutes. Experiments 2 and 3 are similar to Experiment 1, except that on the 28th day, the animals will be treated with imipramine or sertraline, respectively, 30 minutes before the TST test. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BAPTISTA-DE-SOUZA, DANIELA; NUNCIATO, ANA C.; PEREIRA, BARBARA C.; FACHINNI, GABRIEL; ZANIBONI, CAROLINE R.; CANTO-DE-SOUZA, AZAIR. Mice undergoing neuropathic pain induce anxiogenic-like effects and hypernociception in cagemates. Behavioural Pharmacology, v. 26, n. 7, p. 9-pg., 2015-10-01. (13/22284-0, 09/17938-6)

BAPTISTA-DE-SOUZA, DANIELA; NUNCIATO, ANA C.; PEREIRA, BARBARA C.; FACHINNI, GABRIEL; ZANIBONI, CAROLINE R.; CANTO-DE-SOUZA, AZAIR. Mice undergoing neuropathic pain induce anxiogenic-like effects and hypernociception in cagemates. Behavioural Pharmacology, v. 26, n. 7, SI, p. 664-672, OCT 2015. (13/22284-0, 09/17938-6)