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Effects Of Neonatal Clomipramine Treatment On Photic And Non-Photic Circadian Phase Shifting In Rats, Suzanne M. Dwyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neonatal exposure to monoaminergic antidepressant drugs produces a wide variety of effects on the behavior and physiology of adult rats which parallel those observed in human depression. Monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems are involved in the regulation of both affective and circadian behaviors, and alterations in circadian rhythmicity have been observed in depressed patients and in several other animal depression models. The purpose of the present study was to explore circadian phase shifting following neonatal antidepressant treatment. Neonatal rats were divided into three treatment groups; a clomipramine-treated group, a saline-treated group, and an unhandled group. Daily injections of clomipramine (25 mg/kg SC), …