Abstract
A conditioned taste aversion (CTA) procedure in mice was used to investigate the stimulus effects of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) fluvoxamine and fluoxetine. Fluvoxamine elicited a reliable CTA (ED50 = 24 mg/kg, SC) and a number of drugs were tested as pre-exposure drugs. Pre-exposure to the serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor agonists flesinoxan and ±-8-hydroxy-dipropylaminotetralin (8-OH-DPAT) prevented the CTA induced by fluvoxamine (50 mg/kg, SC). Pre-exposure with the 5-HT2C receptor agonist MK 212 [6-chloro-2(1-piperazinyl)pyrazine] partially prevented the fluvoxamine-induced CTA, pre-exposure with the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist DOI [1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane HCl] did not prevent the CTA induced by fluvoxamine. Flesinoxan pre-exposure also prevented the taste aversion induced by fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, SC) completely. This contrasts previous results obtained with fluoxetine, where was found that its stimulus is primarily mediated by 5-HT2C, and to a lesser degree by 5-HT1A receptors. Therefore, we compared the two SSRIs directly. Pre-exposure to fluvoxamine prevented the fluoxetine-induced CTA, whereas pre-exposure to fluoxetine only partially prevented the fluvoxamine-induced CTA. We conclude that 5-HT1A receptors are involved in the stimulus properties of both fluvoxamine and fluoxetine, that 5-HT2C receptors are involved in fluvoxamine and especially fluoxetine, and , based primarily on the cross-comparison tests, that the two SSRIs have somewhat different stimulus properties.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 3 March 1998 / Final version: 26 May 1998
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gommans, J., Bouwknecht, J., Hijzen, T. et al. Stimulus properties of fluvoxamine in a conditioned taste aversion procedure. Psychopharmacology 140, 496–502 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130050794
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002130050794