Electroconvulsive Treatment Ameliorates Lipopolysaccharide-induced Depressive Like Behaviour in Rats

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Major depression （MD） is the most prevalent mood disorder worldwide. Electroconvulsive treatment （ECT） is a highly effective treatment in psychiatry and shows efficacy in patients who were resistant to pharmacotherapy. Recent retrospective cohort studies have shown that ECT is highly effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms. Similar ECT efficacy has been established also in various rodent models of MD. To establish further efficacy of ECT in rodent depression models, we investigated the effect of ECT on depressive-like behaviour induced by lipopolysaccharide （LPS） in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely, control, LPS, sham ECT, and LPS + ECT. The SD rats received intraperitoneal injection of LPS or sterile saline, followed by ECT or sham treatment for 7 consecutive days. Subsequently, the forced swimming test （FST） and Y-maze test were performed. Results: The FST showed that the immobility time in the LPS group （169.73 ± 15.46 s） was significantly longer than that in the control group （63.16 ± 4.48 s）. However, ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly shortened the prolonged immobility. The Y-maze test showed a significant decrease in % spontaneous alternation behaviour （SAB） in the LPS group compared to the control group. ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly restored such a decrease in % SAB. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repeated ECT ameliorated LPS-induced depressive-like behaviour in SD rats. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanism of such therapeutic effects of ECT.