A developmental neurotoxicity evaluation of the effects of prenatal exposure to fluoxetine in rats

Fluoxetine is a widely used serotonin reuptake inhibitor effec-tive in the treatment of depression. This experiment assessed the potential developmental neurotoxicity of fluoxetine. Sprague-Dawley CD rats were treated once per day on Days 7-20 of gestation with 0, 1, 5, or 12 mg/kg of fluoxetine (free base) dissolved in distilled water. One control group received water by gavage; animals in this group were provided food and water ad libitum. The second control group (PF) also received water by gavage; animals in this group had their food and water restricted by pair-feeding and watering them to the 12 mg/kg fluoxetine group. Litters were culled to 12 after birth and off-spring (male/female pairs) were tested neurobehaviorally at three developmental stages (preweaning, juvenile, and adult). At each stage, two pairs per litter received tests of locomotor activ-ity, acoustic startle, and startle after administration of one o