Guanfacine Modulation of Rodent Behavior

Guanfacine (GUAN, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, i.p [42 (link)–45 (link)]) was obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, MO), dissolved in 0.9% saline (vehicle, VEH), and administered in a volume of 1 mL/kg. Previous literature has found that a range of 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg is an effective dose of GUAN to reduce locomotion and measures of impulsivity in rodents that are not confounded by sickness and significant sedation [44 (link), 45 (link)]. Therefore, we used a different cohort of mice for each behavioral task and investigated the effects of two doses of GUAN (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) that are based on the literature. These doses of GUAN in mice are comparable to the doses used for children with ADHD ([46 (link)]; FDA ref# 3335794). To ensure observers were blind to treatment conditions, vials were letter-coded prior to administration by a person not involved in the running of each experiment.