Figure 4.

Peripartum fluoxetine exposure to C57BL/6 dams reduced serum serotonin and improved depression-like behavior but had no effect on milk yield. (A) Saline (n = 16) or 20 mg/kg fluoxetine (n = 14) was administered from the day of conception through day 21 of lactation. Mice were then aged to either 3 mo (n = 8, saline group; n = 7, fluoxetine group) or 9 mo (n = 8, saline group; n = 7, fluoxetine group) after weaning. Blood samples were collected from all mice before any treatment on the day of conception, on days 1 and 21 of lactation, and at euthanasia, and serum was isolated. Serum serotonin (ng/mL) is shown, corrected to each mouse’s pre-exposure baseline sample. (B) Saline (n = 8) or 20 mg/kg fluoxetine (n = 8) was administered from E13 through day 10 of lactation. Blood samples were taken before any treatment on E13 and on days 1 and 10 of lactation, and serum was isolated. Serum serotonin (ng/mL) is shown, corrected to each mouse’s pre-exposure baseline sample. (C) Mice dosed from the day of conception through day 21 of lactation were administered Porsolt FST on day 10 of lactation, and total immobility time was recorded. (D and E) Each day of lactation, pups were removed from the dam and fasted for 4 h. After the fast, the pups were weighed, returned to the dam for 45 minutes, and weighed again. The difference in weight represented the milk yield for each litter, which was then divided by the number of pups in the litter on any given day to estimate the milk yield per pup. (D) Mice dosed from conception through day 21 of lactation. (E) Mice dosed from E13 to day 10 of lactation. Data presented as mean ± SEM and analyzed using an SAS mixed linear model for treatment and time, including repeated measures for milk yield data, or a Student t test.