Anxiolytic-like effects of oleamide in group-housed and socially isolated mice

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Aug 15;31(6):1189-95. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2007.04.008. Epub 2007 Apr 24.

Abstract

Oleamide (cis-9,10-octadecenoamide) is an endogenous sleep-inducing lipid and prototypic member of a new class of biological signaling molecules identified in recent years. In the present study, the anxiolytic-like effect of oleamide was studied in several experimental models of anxiety in group-housed and socially isolated mice. As the results show, socially isolated mice exhibited an anxiogenic-like profile in the elevated plus-maze test, the light/dark test, and the hole-board test, which could be significantly reversed by oleamide (10 or 20 mg/kg, i.p.). Moreover, oleamide significantly reduced the anxiety levels in grouped-housed mice. In the isolation-induced aggressive test, oleamide markedly reduced the attacking duration and increased the attacking latency. It is concluded that oleamide has an anxiolytic-like effect in socially isolated or group-housed mice, which suggests that fatty acid amides might be involved in the regulation of anxiety-related behavior in mice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aggression / drug effects
  • Aggression / psychology
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Anxiety / drug therapy*
  • Anxiety / etiology
  • Behavior, Animal / drug effects
  • Diazepam / therapeutic use
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Exploratory Behavior / drug effects
  • Hypnotics and Sedatives / therapeutic use*
  • Male
  • Maze Learning / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Oleic Acids / therapeutic use*
  • Reaction Time / drug effects
  • Social Isolation / psychology*
  • Stress, Psychological / drug therapy
  • Stress, Psychological / etiology

Substances

  • Hypnotics and Sedatives
  • Oleic Acids
  • oleylamide
  • Diazepam