Feeding-produced subchronic high plasma levels of uric acid improve behavioral dysfunction in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced mouse model of Parkinson’s disease
The development of Parkinson’s disease (PD) involves the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons caused by oxidative stress. Accumulating clinical evidence indicates that high blood levels of uric acid (UA), an intrinsic antioxidative substance, are associated with reduced risk of PD. However, this hypothesis has not been confirmed by in-vivo experiments. The present study investigated the effects of UA on behavioral abnormalities in the development of PD. We used unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned mice, which were fed on a diet containing 1% UA and 2.5% potassium oxonate (an uricase inhibitor) to induce hyperuricemia. A...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: SHORT REPORT Source Type: research
Anti-NGF treatment can reduce chronic neuropathic pain by changing peripheral mediators and brain activity in rats
This study provides the first evidence of the anti-NGF effects on brain activity. Thus, our findings suggest that anti-NGF improves chronic neuropathic pain, acting directly on peripheral sensitization and indirectly on central sensitization. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Cross-tolerance between nitric oxide synthase inhibition and atypical antipsychotics modify nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase activity in mouse lateral striatum
Previous research indicates that the subchronic administration of NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) produces tolerance to haloperidol-induced catalepsy in Swiss mice. The present study aimed to further investigate whether intermittent subchronic systemic administration of L-NOARG induces tolerance to the cataleptic effects of haloperidol as well as olanzapine or clozapine (Clz) in C57Bl mice after subchronic administration for 5 consecutive days. Striatal FosB protein expression was measured in an attempt to gain further insights into striatal mechanisms in antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms side effects. An nicotin...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Attenuation of glutamatergic and nitrergic system contributes to the antidepressant-like effect induced by capsazepine in the forced swimming test
The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) can modulate stress-related behaviours, thus representing an interesting target for new antidepressant drugs. TRPV1 can trigger glutamate release and nitric oxide synthesis in the brain, mechanisms also involved in the neurobiology of depression. However, it is not known if these mechanisms are involved in TRPV1-induced behavioural effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify if the antidepressant-like effect induced by a TRPV1 antagonist in mice submitted to the forced swimming test (FST) would be facilitated by combined treatment with neuronal nitric oxide s...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Social environment modulates anxiogenic effects of caffeine in zebrafish
Zebrafish has recently become a species of choice in a number of preclinical studies to examine whether and how psychoactive compounds modulate individual and social behaviors. Here, we sought to contribute an improved understanding of the effects of caffeine, a well-known anxiogenic compound, on the swimming activity and the collective response of zebrafish. To investigate how the social environment influences individual response to acute caffeine treatment, we measured the behavior of a caffeine-treated subject swimming in isolation or in the presence of a group of untreated conspecifics. The experimental paradigm used a...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Neuroprotective effects of Danshensu in Parkinson’s disease mouse model induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine
Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes major changes in dopaminergic neurons of the brain, resulting in motor symptoms in older adults. A previous study showed that Danshensu alleviates the cognitive decline by attenuating neuroinflammation. In the present study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of Danshensu in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of PD. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the following four groups: control, MPTP, Danshensu at 15 mg/kg, and Danshensu at 60 mg/kg. The mice were administered Danshensu intragastrically for 14 days. In the behavioral tests, Danshensu...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
SUVN-502, a novel, potent, pure, and orally active 5-HT6 receptor antagonist: pharmacological, behavioral, and neurochemical characterization
Research in Alzheimer’s disease is going through a big turnaround. New palliative therapies are being reconsidered for the effective management of disease because of setbacks in the development of disease-modifying therapies. Serotonin 6 (5-HT6) receptor has long been pursued as a potential target for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. SUVN-502 is a novel 5-HT6 receptor antagonist (Ki=2.04 nmol/l) with high receptor affinity and high degree of selectivity. SUVN-502 at doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg, per os (p.o.) demonstrated procognitive effects in various behavioral animal models (object recognit...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Effect of pioglitazone and simvastatin in lipopolysaccharide-induced amyloidogenesis and cognitive impairment in mice: possible role of glutamatergic pathway and oxidative stress
Neuroinflammation and β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in the brain are well known characteristics of neurodegeneration. Diabetes and hypercholesterolemia are the main risk factors leading to memory loss and cognitive impairment. Recently, it was found that statins and thiazolidinediones have promising anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects that could delay neurodegeneration and neuronal loss in diabetic and hypercholesterolemic patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of simvastatin, pioglitazone, and their combination in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation and amylo...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Rapid assessment of the dose–response relationship of methamphetamine using the progressive-dosing procedure
This paper describes a new method to rapidly obtain dose–response curves for a drug with rewarding properties using the conditioned place preference protocol. In the usual single-dosing procedure, different animals receive single, varying doses. Thus, a large number of animals are required to generate a curve. A new procedure, known as progressive dosing, alternates increasing drug doses with saline. In this way, the same animal can receive multiple tests. The dose–response curves of the rewarding effect of methamphetamine in mice were obtained using both single-dosing and progressive-dosing procedures. Although the pr...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - January 12, 2019 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Monoaminergic modulation of decision-making under risk of punishment in a rat model
The ability to decide advantageously among options that vary in both their risks and rewards is critical for survival and well-being. Previous work shows that some forms of risky decision-making are robustly modulated by monoamine signaling, but it is less clear how monoamine signaling modulates decision-making under risk of explicit punishment. The goal of these experiments was to determine how this form of decision-making is modulated by dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine signaling, using a task in which rats choose between a small, ‘safe’ food reward and a large food reward associated with variable risks of pun...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Investigating the influence of ‘losses disguised as wins’ on decision making and motivation in rats
Multiline slot machines encourage continued play through ‘losses disguised as wins’ (LDWs), outcomes in which the money returned is less than that wagered. Individuals with gambling problems may be susceptible to this game feature. The cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms through which LDWs act are unknown. In a novel rat operant task, animals chose between a ‘certain’ lever, which always delivered two sugar pellets, or an ‘uncertain’ lever, resulting in four sugar pellets on 50% of trials. LDWs were then introduced as a return of three sugar pellets on 30–40% of uncertain rewarded trials. For half the ra...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Impulsive choice does not predict binge-like eating in rats
Binge eating disorder is an addiction-like disorder characterized by recurrent, excessive food consumption within discrete periods of time, and it has been linked to increased trait impulsivity. Within impulsivity components, while impulsive action was shown to predict binge-like and addictive-like eating, the role of impulsive choice is instead unknown. The goal of this study was to determine if impulsive choice predicted, or was altered by binge-like eating of a sugary, highly palatable diet. We utilized a modified adjusting delay task procedure in free-fed rats to assess impulsive choice behavior, that is. the tendency ...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: SHORT REPORT Source Type: research
A concurrent pictorial drug choice task marks multiple risk factors in treatment-engaged smokers and drinkers
Concurrent choice tasks, where participants choose between a drug versus natural reward, predict dependence vulnerability in animals and humans. However, the sensitivity of concurrent choice tasks to multiple risk factors in treatment-engaged drug users has not been comprehensively tested. In experiment 1, 33 recently hospitalized smokers who were engaged with the smoking cessation service made forced choices between enlarging pictures of people smoking versus not smoking. In experiment 2, 48 drinkers who were engaged in an outpatient alcohol treatment service made forced choices between enlarging pictures of alcohol versu...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Assessment of executive function using the Tinkertoy test
The Tinkertoy test (TTT) has often been used to assess executive function. Despite its clinical importance, there are few published normative data for it. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to fill this gap. Moreover, as there exists a sex difference in many cognitive abilities and neuropsychological tests, a secondary aim was to examine whether sex influences TTT performance. We administered the TTT to 25 healthy men and 25 healthy women whose average age was 28 years. Performances were scored based upon Lezak’s (1982) original TTT criteria. On average, our participants used 43 pieces to complete their construction...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
Vigilance demand and the effects of stimulant drugs in a five-choice reaction-time procedure in mice
Stimulant drugs used for treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase signal-detection accuracy in five-choice serial reaction-time procedures. These increases may result from drug-induced increases in control exerted by the stimuli that prompt responses, which was assessed in the present study. Mice were trained with food reinforcement to nose poke into one of five holes after its illumination (signal), and effects of methylphenidate, d-amphetamine, and pentobarbital were assessed. Subsequently, the time from trial onset to signal was changed from fixed to variable for one group of subjects. A ‘warn...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - November 10, 2018 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: RESEARCH REPORTS Source Type: research
