Cognitive and anxiety-like impairments accompanied by serotonergic ultrastructural and immunohistochemical alterations in early stages of parkinsonism.

Cognitive and anxiety-like impairments accompanied by serotonergic ultrastructural and immunohistochemical alterations in early stages of parkinsonism. Brain Res Bull. 2019 Jan 11;: Authors: Leal PC, Bispo JMM, Lins LCRF, Souza MF, Gois AM, Moore C, Marchioro M, Ribeiro AM, Silva RH, Meshul CK, Santos JR Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is mostly known as a dopamine deficiency syndrome due the structural and functional changes in striatal projection neurons. However, studies have considered this pathology as a multi-systemic disease in which the neurodegenerative process extends beyond the dopaminergic system. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the morphological and immunohistochemical changes associated with behavioral and cognitive alterations in a model of parkinsonism induced by low dose of reserpine. Animals showed anxiety-like behavior and deficits in short-term recognition memory. Besides, Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive cells decreased in reserpine (RES) group in CA1 and serotonin (5-HT) immunoreactive cells decreased in RES group in CA1, CA3 and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Moreover, an increase in the area (µm2) of 5 H T labeled ultrastructure (axon terminal) was observed in RES group only in CA1 and mPFC. The evidence of alterations in 5-HT immunoreactive in the premotor phase of model of parkinsonism highlights the importance of looking beyond the nigrostriatal system to eluc...
Source: Brain Research Bulletin - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Bull Source Type: research