Negative social experiences influence both depression and cardiovascular dysfunction. Many individuals who experience negative mood states or cardiovascular conditions have limited social support. Therefore, investigation of drug treatments that may protect against the consequences of social stress will aid in designing effective treatment strategies. The current study used an animal model to evaluate the protective effect of sertraline administration on behavioral and cardiovascular consequences of social stress. Specifically, male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), which are socially monogamous rodents that share several behavioral and physiological characteristics with humans, were isolated from a socially-bonded female partner, and treated with sertraline (16 mg/kg/day, ip) or vehicle during isolation. Unexpectedly, sertraline did not protect against depression-relevant behaviors, and it was associated with increased short- and long-term heart rate responses. However, sertraline administration improved heart rate variability recovery following a behavioral stressor, including increased parasympathetic regulation, and altered long-term neuronal activity in brain regions that modulate autonomic control and stress reactivity. These results indicate that sertraline may partially protect against the consequences of social stressors, and suggest a mechanism through which sertraline may beneficially influence neurobiological control of cardiac function.

中文翻译：

---

给草原田鼠服用舍曲林可以部分缓解社会关系破坏的负面影响


负面的社会经历会影响抑郁症和心血管功能障碍。许多经历负面情绪状态或心血管疾病的人所获得的社会支持有限。因此，研究可以预防社会压力后果的药物治疗将有助于设计有效的治疗策略。目前的研究使用动物模型来评估舍曲林给药对社会压力的行为和心血管后果的保护作用。具体而言，雄性草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）是一种社会一夫一妻制的啮齿动物，与人类有一些共同的行为和生理特征，将其与具有社会联系的雌性伴侣分离，并用舍曲林（16 mg/kg/天，腹膜内注射）或隔离期间的车辆。出乎意料的是，舍曲林并不能预防抑郁相关行为，而且与短期和长期心率反应增加有关。然而，舍曲林给药改善了行为应激源后心率变异性的恢复，包括增加副交感神经调节，并改变了调节自主控制和应激反应性的大脑区域的长期神经元活动。这些结果表明舍曲林可以部分防止社会压力源的后果，并提出舍曲林可以有益地影响心脏功能的神经生物学控制的机制。