Date of Award
Spring 2016
Department
Neuroscience
First Advisor
Dr. Helen M. Murphy
Abstract
Zolpidem is a nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic drug. It is placed in the imidazopyridine class of drugs, which are gamma aminobutyric acis (GABA)-A receptor agonists due to their effect on the alpha-1 GABA-A receptor subunit. The present study focused on differences observed during administration of zolpidem to female rats as compared to a previous study performed on male rats. Female rats receiving zolpidem did not differ significantly from those rats not receiving zolpidem; whereas, male animals were shown to be more affected by zolpidem causing increased food intake, lowered activity levels, increased anxiety, and increased visceral adiposity. Female rats exhibited little change during the withdrawal period compared to the experimental period; while, during the withdrawal period, male rats previously receiving zolpidem quickly returned to levels observed during the habituation period. This suggests that the effects of zolpidem are longer lasting in the female body than in the male body. The differences between male and female rats observed in these experiments may be useful in making dosage recommendations for human patients being administered zolpidem.
Recommended Citation
Mangan, Rachel, "The Effects of Body Weight, Food Intake, Activity, and Anxiety in Female Rats" (2016). Senior Honors Projects. 88.
https://collected.jcu.edu/honorspapers/88
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