AGED RATS ARE STILL RESPONSIVE TO THE ANTIDEPRESSANT AND MEMORY-IMPROVING EFFECTS OF OXYTOCIN

Oxytocin, intraperitoneally injected to 26-month-old male rats 60 min before testing, significantly improved social memory (at doses of 3 and 6 ng/kg) and reduced the duration of immobility in the behavioral despair test (at doses of 50 and 500 mu g/kg). These results are in agreement with previous data obtained in adult rats and indicate that aging does not compromise the social memory improving and antidepressant-like activities of oxytocin.