Zimelidine does not antagonise the effects of alcohol or diazepam on the acquisition of conditioned fear in mice.

Recent work has suggested that, in man, the specific inhibitor of serotonin reuptake, zimelidine, can block the effects of ethanol on memory processes without affecting psychomotor performance decrements produced by ethanol. The present study was carried out to investigate whether a similar interaction between ethanol and zimelidine could be observed in mice. Using a 2-trial conditioned fear test known to be sensitive to the effects of benzodiazepines and similar drugs, it was found that ethanol, administered before the first trial, produced a dose-related disruption of fear conditioning as shown on the second trial. In a second experiment several doses of zimelidine were administered at the same time as a dose of either ethanol or diazepam. No evidence was obtained for a zimelidine-induced antagonism of the effects of either ethanol or diazepam.