Wieronska J M, Szewczyk B, Branski P, Palucha A, Pilc A
Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland.
Amino Acids. 2002;23(1-3):213-6. doi: 10.1007/s00726-001-0131-5.
Using the olfactory bulbectomy model of depression, we examined the antidepressant-like activity of 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP) in rats. Bulbectomized rats required a significantly greater number of trials to acquire the response similar to sham-operated controls in the passive avoidance model. Both the prolonged (but not acute) treatment with MPEP and with antidepressant drug-desipramine restored the learning deficit. The results indicate that the prolonged blockade of mGlu5 receptors exerts antidepressant-like effects in rats.