The effects of pentylenetetrazol, chlordiazepoxide and caffeine in rats tested in the elevated plus-maze depend on the experimental illumination

The so-called anxiolytic and anxiogenic drugs are considered to cause, respectively, increases and decreases in plus-maze open arm exploration, without modifying locomotor activity occurring in the closed arms in an elevated plus-maze when the animals are tested in an illuminated environment. Simply testing animals in the dark also increases open arm exploration, which may be interpreted as an anxiolytic effect. We investigated the effects of two GABAergic drugs, pentylenetetrazol (10 and 20 mg/kg) and chlordiazepoxide (1.5 and 3 mg/kg), and one non-GABAergic drug, caffeine (10 and 30 mg/kg) on anxiety levels of rats tested in the elevated plus-maze under two illumination conditions, light or dark. All animals explored more the open arms in the dark. In the light, pentylenetetrazol decreased open arm exploration while chlordiazepoxide had the opposite effect. Neither pentylenetetrazol nor chlordiazepoxide had any effect in the dark. Caffeine, increased open arms exploration in both illumination conditions. These results indicate that light triggers aversion, a response mediated by GABA since the GABAergic drugs, but not caffeine, were ineffective when the rats were tested in the dark.

Research highlights▶ Light triggers aversion to the open arms of the elevated plus-maze in rats. ▶ Activation of brain aversive circuitry is necessary for GABAergic drugs to be effective. ▶ GABAergic drugs have no effect when rats are tested in the dark in an elevated plus-maze.