Fig. 3 Effects of citalopram and escitalopram administration on the dopamine neuronal firing rate in the ventral tegmental area. The rats were implanted with minipumps containing vehicle (water), citalopram (20 mg/kg/d) and escitalopram (10 mg/kg/d) for (A) 2 and (B) 14 days. The firing rates and burst activity (mean and standard error of the mean) are presented. Multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant difference between the groups. For 2 days: Wilks Λ = 0.22, F 8,94 = 12.91, p < 0.001, firing rate F = 13.19, p < 0.001; number of bursts/10 s F = 6.95, p < 0.01; number of spikes/burst F = 9.62, p < 001; for 14 days: Wilks Λ = 0.59, F8,84 = 12.91, p < 0.01, firing rate F = 4.50, p < 0.05, number of bursts/10 s F = 4.39, p < 0.05, number of spikes/burst F = 3.37, p < 0.05). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001 in comparison with vehicle, Bonferroni post-hoc test.