[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

decreased social interaction, indicative of increased anxiety. The anxiogenic effect of the WAY-
100635 is consistent with earlier reports suggesting that BNST 5-HT1A activation is anxiolytic.
These data further support that the activation of brain 5-HT systems may modulate anxiety-like
behavior by altering activity within the BNST.
Disclosures: K.M. Rhodes , None; B.A. Grimmig, None; M. Kocho-Schellenberg, None; R.A.
Sugarman, None; M.R. Williams, None; S.E. Hammack, None.
Poster
255. Mood Disorders: Animal Models and Treatment Effects II
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 255.22/Z3
Topic: C.15.h. Affective disorders: Animal models
Title: Different efficacy of mood stabilizer and antipsychotic drugs to prevent the hyperactivity
induced by amphetamine/chlordiazepoxide mixture or amphetamine alone in mice
Authors: A. IERACI, S. MELI, P. SALVATI, *E. IZZO;
Discovery, NEWRON PHARMACEUTICALS SPA, Bresso MI, Italy
Abstract: Bipolar disorder is a common, severe and chronic mood disorder characterized by
alternate episodes of mania or hypomania and depression. Identifying novel drugs acting as
mood stabilizers is complicated by the absence of suitable animal models. The hyperactivity
induced by a mixture of amphetamine (Amph) and chlordiazepoxide (CDP) in rodents placed in
an unfamiliar environment, has been proposed by some authors as a predictive model of mania
since mood-stabilizer drugs prevent the hyperactivity induced by the mixture but not the
hyperactivity induced by Amph alone. Other authors instead, reported that mood stabilizers can
reduce the hyperactivity induced by Amph alone similarly to most of clinically effective
antipsychotic drugs with no data so far being available on the effect of antipsychotics on
hyperactivity induced by Amph/CDP mixture.
With the aim of comparing the Amph/CDP versus the Amph-induced hyperactivity model, we
evaluated the effects of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics with different mechanism of action
on the two tests in mice. In particular, the mood stabilizers lithium chloride (1, 2 and 4meq/kg
ip), lamotrigine (5, 10 and 20mg/kg po) and carbamazepine (10 and 20mg/kg po) were used,
while the antipsychotics, haloperidol (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2mg/kg ip) and clozapine (0.25, 0.5 and
1mg/kg ip) were tested. Locomotor activity was recorded using the automated acti-track system
(Panlab).
The results showed that all three mood stabilizers reduced more efficiently the hyperactivity
induced by Amph/CDP mixture than induced by Amph alone. Conversely, the typical