Behavioral Effects of Mianserin on the Developmental Toxicity of Cocaine

Abstract

To investigate the involvement of 5-HT_{2A}/ 5-HT{2C} receptors in the developmental toxicity of cocaine in rats, mianserin (2.5 mg/kg), a 5-HT_{2A}/5-HT_{2C} receptor antagonist, and/or cocaine HCl (45 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.), during postnatal days (PND) 7-13. Behavioral assessments for the rat pups were done after 100 days of age by using the progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement (FR 1-FR 128, doubled everyday) and cocaine challenge (5, 15 or 30 mg/kg i.p.) upon established FR 32 behavior. Cocaine injected just prior to the FR 32 session suppressed the established FR 32 responding in a dose-dependent manner. The low dose of cocaine did not affect the FR 32 responding, while the high dose of cocaine suppressed it in all experimental groups. However, by the middle dose of cocaine, rats previously received water-cocaine in their early life showed a marked resistance to cocaine-induced behavioral suppression, and this resistance was not observed in rats received both mianserin and cocaine in their early life. These results suggest that 5-HT_{2A}/ 5-HT_{2C} receptors may have an important role for the persistently altered behavioral sensitivity to cocaine caused by exposure to cocaine during development.