Effect of Prenatal Citalopram Exposure on Motor and Cognitive Functions of Rats

Abstract

Aim: Physicians mostly prescribe selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treat-ment of depression in pregnancy. However, there is little information on teratogenic effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This study aims to investigate the ef-fects of prenatal exposure to citalopram, one of the most prescribed antidepressants, on developmental characteristics, reflex and motor functions of rat pups. Materials and Methods: 12-14 weeks old, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the experiments. Rats were divided into 3 groups and separated into individual cag-es. When treatment groups received 5 and 20 mg/kg/d citalopram by orogastric ga-vage from gestational days 1 to 18, control group received the same amount of saline (2 ml/kg/d). After birth duration of gestation, number of live and dead pups and gross malformation are evaluated. Eye opening, pinna detachment, incisor eruption, the development of fur and weight gain were monitored as developmental parameters. Markers for reflex development were identified as righting reflex, negative geotaxis and grip response. Motor developments and cognitive functions were established with locomotor activity test, T-maze, holeboard, Y-maze and passive avoidance test. Results: Developmental parameters, reflex, motor and cognitive development as-sessments of pups were not significantly different in treatment groups compared to control group. Conclusion: The results of the study show that prenatal exposure to citalopram has no effect on motor and cognitive functions of rat offspring.

Keywords

• depresyon
• seçici seratonin geri alım inhibitörleri
• sıçan
• sitalopram
• teratojenite
• depression
• selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors
• rat
• citalopram
• teratogenity