- Title
- The evaluation of melatonin as a possible antidepressive
- Creator
- Skene, Debra Jean
- ThesisAdvisor
- Potgieter, B
- ThesisAdvisor
- Wilson, B J
- Subject
- Melatonin
- Subject
- Antidepressants
- Date
- 1980
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- vital:3728
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001465
- Description
- Melatonin, a hormone of the pineal gland, was evaluated in a variety of animal models of depression. Measurements of the frog righting reflex and rat locomotor activity showed that low doses of melatonin have a serotonin-like potentiating effect following monoamine oxidase inhibition. High doses of melatonin caused a reduction in the duration of rat immobility in the Porsolt model of depression and exerted a chlorpromazine-like effect on conditioned avoidance behaviour. In view of the indoleamine hypothesis of depressive disorders, the possibility of melatonin being a potential antidepressive is discussed and it is concluded that melatonin might be useful in the treatment of "agitated" depressions
- Format
- 349 leaves, pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Skene, Debra Jean
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