Investigating potential anxiolytic, antidepressant and memory enhancing activity of deprenyl.

L-deprenyl in the dose of 0.25 mg/kg (the dose with no effect on locomotor activity) was administered to Wistar rats in single and prolonged treatment (21 days). In the same manner carboxymethyl cellulose was given to the control group. In the forced swimming test the rats from the deprenyl group showed reduced immobility time only once, after 7 days of treatment, as compared with the control group. In the Crawley's test one parameter was increased after deprenyl--the white square entries (WSE), showing that the rats were emboldened to move more freely in the white, lighted area. In the maze test the most important observations were that deprenyl shortened the food finding time and significantly counteracted the elongation of this time after scopolamine. The authors discuss the possibility that deprenyl has a modulatory effect on learning and memory and this effect depends on the dose used. It seems also that the increase of monoamine and cholinergic transmission may be involved. The small antidepressant and anxiolytic effect may be due to the metabolites of deprenyl of the amphetamine group.