Fluoxetine exposure during adolescence increases preference for cocaine in adulthood

Currently, there is a high prevalence of antidepressant prescription rates within juvenile populations, yet little is known about the potential long-lasting consequences of such treatments, particularly on subsequent responses to drugs of abuse. To address this issue at the preclinical level, we examined whether adolescent exposure to fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, results in changes to the sensitivity of the rewarding properties of cocaine in adulthood. Separate groups of male c57bl/6 mice were exposed to FLX (0 or 20 mg/kg) for 15 consecutive days either during adolescence (postnatal days [PD] 35–49) or adulthood (PD 65–79). Twenty-one days after FLX treatment, behavioral responsivity to cocaine (0, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg) conditioned place preference was assessed. Our data shows that mice pretreated with FLX during adolescence, but not during adulthood, display an enhanced dose-dependent preference to the environment paired with cocaine (5 or 10 mg/kg) when compared to age-matched saline pretreated controls. Taken together, our findings suggest that adolescent exposure to FLX increases sensitivity to the rewarding properties of cocaine, later in life.