Abstract
Psychostimulants, including methamphetamine (MA), are known to influence behavior of individuals. In humans, psychostimulants induce positive emotions such as joy and happiness, or suppress unpleasant conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Test of elevated plus-maze (EPM) is widely used test of anxiolytic and anxiogenic drugs, eventually examination of specific subtypes of anxiety disorders. The aim of the prezent work was to examine the effect of acutely applied MA (1 mg/kg) on rat behavior in the EPM.
The detailed analysis of all behavioral patterns was performed following the protocol based on the study of Espejo (1998). The original protocol was modified allowing to study the effect of MA on learning and memory.
Our results demonstrated that MA affects rat behavior in the EPM in the most analyzed categories, although it does not affect learning abilities. Therefor, the present protocol allowed us to determine positive anxiogenic effect of MA and exclude learning impairment