Prepubescent progeny | Adult progeny | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Saline (N) | Fluoxetine (N) | Saline (N) | Fluoxetine (N) | |
Diencephalon | ||||
Hypothalamus | ||||
Anterior hypothalamus | 65 ± 6 (5) | 74 ± 4 (5) | 54 ± 2 (4) | 67 ± 2 (6) |
Arcuate nucleus | 18 ± 1 (5) | 24 ± 1 (4) | 28 ± 22-b (4) | 22 ± 2 (6) |
Dorsomedical nucleus | 43 ± 2 (4) | 34 ± 12-a (4) | 45 ± 3 (5) | 44 ± 3† (5) |
Lateral hypothalamus | 71 ± 3 (4) | 86 ± 62-a (5) | 62 ± 3 (5) | 72 ± 3† (5) |
Medial mammillary area | 63 ± 5 (5) | 62 ± 5 (4) | 58 ± 6 (5) | 70 ± 7 (6) |
Medial preoptic area | 35 ± 3 (4) | 31 ± 5 (3) | 37 ± 4 (5) | 34 ± 3 (5) |
Paraventricular nucleus | 38 ± 3 (5) | 43 ± 2 (5) | 34 ± 2 (5) | 39 ± 3 (6) |
Ventromedial nucleus | 30 ± 3 (5) | 34 ± 1 (5) | 35 ± 3 (5) | 28 ± 1 (5) |
Mesencephalon | ||||
Tegmentum | ||||
Substantia nigra | 121 ± 5 (4) | 98 ± 32-a (3) | 90 ± 52-b (4) | 74 ± 82-b (5) |
Ventral tegmental area | 114 ± 8 (5) | 109 ± 6 (4) | 79 ± 52-b (5) | 86 ± 62-b (6) |
Raphe Nuclei | ||||
Dorsal raphe | 155 ± 8 (5) | 155 ± 14 (4) | 138 ± 4 (5) | 149 ± 5 (6) |
Median raphe | 145 ± 10 (5) | 134 ± 5 (3) | 108 ± 42-b (4) | 115 ± 5 (6) |
Data are expressed as fmol of sites/mg of tissue equivalent and represent the mean ± S.E.M. from 3–6 rats per group with each rat within a group being obtained from a different litter. The number of rats per group is shown in parentheses. Prenatal exposure to fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/2 ml s.c. to dams from GD 13-20) significantly increased the density of 5-HT transporters in the lateral hypothalamus (+21%) in prepubescent progeny. In contrast, the density of 5-HT transporters was significantly decreased in the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (−21%) and in the substantia nigra (−19%) in prepubescent progeny. By PD 70, the density of 5-HT transporters was similar between saline and fluoxetine-exposed offspring across all brain regions examined. 5-HT transporters were labelled with 0.7 nM [3H]citalopram. Nonspecific binding was determined in the presence of 1 μM paroxetine. Quantification of autoradiograms was performed using computerized digital image analysis as described in Materials and Methods. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA followed by a Newman-Keuls post hoc test.