TITLE:
Effect of Atomoxetine on Behavior of Outbred Mice in the Enrichment Discrimination Test
AUTHORS:
Ramiz M. Salimov, Georgy I. Kovalev
KEYWORDS:
Attention Deficit; Mouse; Atomoxetine
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.3 No.2,
May
24,
2013
ABSTRACT: Treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
with medications is helpful in less than 60% of cases suggesting the necessity
of development of novel drugs. The most accepted animal model of the disease is
outbred spontaneously hypertensive rat strain. It was recently found
in a novel enrichment discrimination test that the rat strain includes attentionally-low
and -high phenotypes and clinically efficient drug for the treatment of the
disorder atomoxetine is capable of ameliorating the enrichment discrimination
by the attentionally-low rats. The present study aimed to test the generality of these findings in outbred CD-1 mice
assessed in the same experimental design. The frequency distribution of the enrichment
discrimination ratio differed from the curve expected under the normality
hypothesis and had a bimodal shape suggesting the existence of
attentionally-low and -high mouse phenotypes. Atomoxetine (3 mg/kg, orally,
once daily for 4 days) selectively enhanced enrichment discrimination in mice
of attentionally-low phenotype only. The present results generalize and extend
findings previously reported in spontaneously hypertensive rats and suggest
that the present model could be useful in studies of the neurobiological
mechanisms of attention deficiency in rodents and for screening of novel drug
candidates for treatment of attention deficit disorder.