Differential behavioral and neurochemical effects of exercise, reboxetine and citalopram with the forced swim test.

Aims: In this study, we investigated whether short-term exercise, known to promote hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, would also enhance activity in the Porsolt forced swim test (FST), a model for assessing antidepressant efficacy. We also wished to determine whether exercise combined with antidepressants would be more effective at modifying behavior in the FST than either intervention alone. In parallel with this, we also expected that these interventions would preserve post-stress levels of BDNF, and that antidepressants designed to selectively enhance noradrenergic or serotonergic neurotransmission (reboxetine or citalopram, respectively) would have differential effects on behavior and BDNF expression.