Regulation of CCK mRNA expression in the rat brain by stress and treatmentwith sertraline, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor

In this paper, we have investigated the regulation of CCK mRNA expression i n the brain after restraint stress with and without long-term treatment wit h the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline. Stress alone incre ases CCK mRNA levels in the hippocampus, whereas no changes were found in t he cerebral cortex, amygdaloid complex and thalamus. CCK mRNA expression de creases in the hippocampus, increases in the thalamus and was not modified in the cerebral cortex and amygdaloid complex after sertraline alone. CCK m RNA content was unchanged in all investigated areas after stress plus sertr aline compared to control rats. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.