Effects of Buspirone on the Behavioral Responses of Adult Male and Female Rats Exposed to Stressors at Neonatal Age

The long-term influences of chronic injections of the type 1A serotonin (5-HT 1A ) receptor agonist buspirone in the pubertal period of development of male and female rats exposed to pain/stress in the first two days of life on measures of anxiety and depression-like behavior and the cognitive domain were studied in adult animals. The data presented here provide evidence of long-term impairments to the behavioral measures assessed – levels of anxiety, severity of depression-like behavior, cognitive capacities – in adult male and female rats subjected to repeated pain/stress. Buspirone improved the behaviors of interest impaired by the harmful treatments. These results indicate that 5-HT 1A receptors are involved in the protective effects of buspirone and, perhaps, in blocking the development of affective disorders and abnormalities in the cognitive domain due to buspirone administration during the critical adolescent period of development. The anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of buspirone were apparent as greater improvements in behavioral indicators in females than males.