Novel 4-phenyl-4-[1H-imidazol-2-yl]-piperidine derivatives have been prepared and their synthesis described herein. In vitro affinities for delta-, micro-, and kappa-opioid receptors are reported. Evaluation of some representative compounds from this series in the mouse neonatal ultrasonic vocalization test and the mouse tail suspension test revealed anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects, respectively, upon subcutaneous administration.
