ArticleTranslational psychiatry2020
The cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil has antidepressant-like properties in the mouse forced swim test.
Article in Translational psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dysregulation of local inhibitory inputs onto laterodorsal tegmental nucleus cholinergic neurons drives depression-like behaviors in mice.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Cognitive Impairment, Dementia and Depression in Older Adults.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- The Administration of Melatonin Improved Depressive Behavior in Both Maximal Electroshock Seizure-Prone and Non-Seizure Mice After Undergoing Levetiracetam Treatment.Turkish journal of pharmaceutical sciences · 2025Article
- Quercetin and Tranylcypromine Improve Memory, Behavioral Performance, and Cholinergic Function in Male Rats Subjected to Chronic Restraint Stress.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- An Integrated Computational Approaches for Designing of Potential Piperidine based Inhibitors of Alzheimer Disease by Targeting Cholinesterase and Monoamine Oxidases Isoenzymes.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Sexually Dimorphic Effects of Neuromodulatory Drugs on Normal and Stress-Induced Social Interaction in Rats.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Donepezil Beyond Alzheimer's Disease? A Narrative Review of Therapeutic Potentials of Donepezil in Different Diseases.Iranian journal of pharmaceutical research : IJPR · 2022Review
- LPS-induced impairment of NaMetabolic brain disease · 2022Article
- Association between depressive symptoms and diagnosis of diabetes and its complications: A network analysis in electronic health records.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Article
- Affective Antidepressant, Cytotoxic Activities, and Characterization of Phyto-Assisted Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized UsingBioMed research international · 2022Article
- Voluntary alcohol binge-drinking in adolescent C57Bl6 mice induces delayed appearance of behavioural defects in both males and females.Addiction biology · 2022Article
- Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Role of Acetylcholinesterase in their Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Multiple cholinesterase inhibitors have antidepressant-like properties in the mouse forced swim test.Behavioural brain research · 2021Article
- Norepinephrine May Oppose Other Neuromodulators to Impact Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- High-Throughput Strategy for Profiling Sequential Section With Multiplex Staining of Mouse Brain.Frontiers in neuroanatomy · 2021Article
- Editorial: Animal Models of Stress - Current Knowledge and Potential Directions.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2021Article
- Repurposing Cholinesterase Inhibitors as Antidepressants? Dose and Stress-Sensitivity May Be Critical to Opening Possibilities.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Finding new antidepressant agents is of high clinical priority given that many cases of major depressive disorder (MDD) do not respond to conventional monoaminergic antidepressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Recent findings of effective fast-acting antidepressants indicate that there are biological substrates to be taken advantage of for fast relief of depression and that we may find further treatments in this category. In this vein, the cholinergic system may be a relatively overlooked target for antidepressant medications, given its major role in motivation and attention. Furthermore, the classically engaged monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems in depression treatment-serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine-interact directly at times with cholinergic signaling. Here we investigate in greater detail how the cholinergic system may impact depression-related behavior, by administering widely ranging doses of the cholinesterase inhibitor drug, donepezil, to C57BL/6J mice in the forced swim test. First, we confirm prior findings that this drug, which is thought to boost synaptic acetylcholine, promotes depression-like behavior at a high dose (2.0 mg/kg, i.p.). But we also find paradoxically that it has an antidepressant-like effect at lower doses (0.02 and 0.2 mg/kg). Further this antidepressant-like effect is not due to generalized hyperactivity, since we did not observe increased locomotor activity in the open field test. These data support a novel antidepressant-like role for donepezil at lower doses as part of an overall u-shaped dose-response curve. This raises the possibility that donepezil could have antidepressant properties in humans suffering from MDD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.