Balance control and posture in anxious mice improved by SSRI treatment

A task requiring dynamic postural stabilisation during locomotion in a conf licting visual vestibular environment (rotating beam), has been devised to assess anxiety-related balance impairments and postural changes in mice. Th e model, already validated with acutely administered diazepam, was used to assess the action of two chronically administered selective serotonin reupt ake inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine and paroxetine. On three behavioural mea sures (imbalance, elevation of trunk and angle of tail), observed in anxiou s BALB/cByJ mice, both compounds had the same diazepam-like effects: reduct ion in number of imbalances, higher elevation of trunk and increase in tail angle. These data suggest, for the first time, that SSRIs should be useful in the treatment of anxiety-induced balance impairments. NeuroReport 12:30 91-3094 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.