Fluoxetine treatment of the LPS and UCMS exposed group promoted the recovery of the coat state with the coat deterioration score returning to control levels.
When coat state was assessed 4 days after the end of UCMS paradigm, the UCMS-only group already displayed signs of recovery with the coat deterioration score indistinguishable from control, while animals exposed to both LPS and UCMS did not show improvement of the coat state.
LPS and UCMS exposed mice displayed significant coat state deterioration (UCMS factor H (7) = 37.5, p < 0.0001) and locomotor hyperactivity in a novel arena (UCMS factor F (1,74) = 20.8, p < 0.0001).
Coat state and body weight was assessed weekly until the end of the second UCMS regimen.
UCMS and fluoxetine produced their usual effect on the coat state test, since the UCMS-induced coat state degradation was prevented by fluoxetine during both the first and the second UCMS procedure.
In the coat state test, fluoxetine was unable to improve UCMS-induced coat state degradation during the first and the second UCMS procedure in mice fed a high fat diet.
Ordinarily, a single UCMS regimen is sufficient to induce behavioural alterations, which was replicated here on the coat state.
This explains why, in the high fat diet groups, the coat state score was generally higher than in the regular diet groups.
Importantly, fluoxetine treatment significantly reversed the deterioration of the coat state induced by UCMS (week 7: U = 8, p<.05; week 20: U = 6.5, p<.01).
The coat state and the body weight of each animal were evaluated weekly until the end of the second UCMS procedure.
The results obtained in the splash test suit those of the coat state since UCMS-induced disturbance in grooming behaviour was reversed by fluoxetine treatment.
