Bradley BF, Starkey NJ, Brown SL, Lea RW
Physiology & Behavior, 2007
ABSTRACT:
AIM:
To investigate the anxiolytic effects of prolonged rose odor exposure, mature gerbils were exposed to acute (24 h), chronic (2 week) rose odor, or a no odor condition. Anxiolytic effects were assessed using the elevated plus maze and black white box. Rose odor profiles were compared with diazepam (1 mg/kg) i.p. The Jonckheere-Terpstra test was used, with the Mann-Whitney U test to examine significant group differences. In the elevated plus maze, spatiotemporal measures, altered by diazepam, were unaffected by rose oil, whereas exploration, increased (headdip frequency: acute U=100, p<0.001; chronic U=13, p<0.001). In the black white box, rose oil had anxiolytic spatiotemporal and exploratory behavior effects: latency to move from the white to the black compartment (acute U=182, p<0.01, chronic U=179, p<0.05), percentage time in the white compartment (acute U=168, p<0.01, chronic U=149, p<0.01) and exploration, rear-sniff frequency white (acute U=100, p<0.001; chronic U=99, p<0.001) increased. The percentage of time in the dark area decreased (acute U=160, p<0.01, chronic U=178, p<0.05). This anxiolytic profile strengthened after chronic exposure to rose odor, transitions between the compartments (U=167, p<0.01) and percentage of time moving around the arena (U=154, p<0.001) increased.
CONCLUSION:
This profile was more representative of modern anxiolytics, for example some serotonergic agents, rather than benzodiazepine type drugs.
CITATION:
Bradley BF, Starkey NJ, Brown SL, et al. The effects of prolonged rose odor inhalation in two animal models of anxiety. Physiol Behav. 2007;92(5):931-938.
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