Differential effects of acute and repeated citalopram in mouse models of anxiety and depression

Clinically, SSRIs are widely prescribed in the treatment of several anxiety disorders, although very few pre-clinical studies have observed a beneficial effect of this class of drugs in animal models of anxiety. Furthermore, the biphasic pattern observed clinically, an exacerbation of anxiety followed by beneficial effects, is rarely observed in animal studies. In the present study we document this clinical phenomenon in several behavioural paradigms. While a single injection of citalopram induced anxiogenic effects, three administrations of citalopram were sufficient to elicit anxiolytic effects. Congruent with these data, we observed that short-term repeated administration of citalopram was accompanied by increased activation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in the hippocampus and desensitization of 5-HT1A receptors, two phenomena well associated with chronic rather than acute actions of antidepressants. Moreover, effects of citalopram were abolished in CREB alpha Delta mutant animals in the elevated zero maze (EZM) and tail suspension test (TST), but not in novelty-induced hypophagia (NIH). Further, the desensitization of 5-HT1A receptors elicited by citalopram was not affected by CREB deficiency. The significance of the EZM and TST paradigms in predicting therapeutic efficacy is well known while effects in NTH and 5-HT1A sensitization are less well-established. These data demonstrate that behavioural responses to citalopram are dependent on the frequency of its administration, and that these responses are differentially dependent on CREB function.