Antidepressant- and anxiogenic-like effects of acute 5-HT2C receptor activation in rats exposed to the forced swim test and elevated plus maze

This study investigated the behavioral effects in the forced swim test (FST) and the elevated plus-maze (EPM) of acute administration of WAY 161503 ([4aR]-8,9-dichloro-2,3,4,4a-tetrahydro-1H-pyrazino[1,2-a]quinoxalin-5[6 H]-one), a selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist with putative antidepressant-like properties. Fifteen minutes after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of either WAY 161503 (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) or saline, naive male Wistar rats were exposed to the EPM for 5 min to assess classical and ethological anxiety-like measures. Immediately after EPM exposure, each animal was exposed to the F...