Neurochemical Markers of Efficacy of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Resveratrol in Correcting Anxiety Disorders of Stressful Nature

Anxiety-phobic disorders are behavioral complications of chronic stress. Unfortunately, there is still no effective pharmacological correction of them. The aim of the study was to assess the prospect of the combined use of resveratrol and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for the correction of anxiety-phobic disorders caused by chronic predatory stress. To reproduce anxiety-phobic disorders, we used a model of predatory stress caused by contact of rats with the smell of a fox. The anxiety level was determined in the elevated plus maze test. In the cerebral cortex, the content of serotonin, MAO-A, activity and the intensity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) were determined. It was found that chronic predatory stress was accompanied by an increase in anxiety, manifested in a decrease in the time spent in the open arms of the plus maze and increased freezing. At the same time, serotonin levels and MAO-A activity increased in the brain, and the intensity of lipid peroxidation increased. Fluoxetine and citalopram alone did not effectively correct anxiety-phobic disorders. Resveratrol alone and together with fluoxetine and citalopram either weakened or enhanced anxiety-phobic disorders. The effects of resveratrol were dose-dependent. A decrease in stress anxiety as a result of pharmacological correction was accompanied by a restoration of serotonin levels to control values, a decrease in MAO-A activity and the LPO intensity in the brain. Resveratrol, both independently and in the presence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, can effectively correct anxiety-phobic disorders in some cases and potentiate in others depending on the dose.