Activation of L-type calcium channels and attenuation of oxidative stress are involved in the improving effect of methyl jasmonate on learning and memory and its anxiolytic property in rats
The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of plant bioactive compound methyl jasmonate on learning and memory, anxiety-like behaviors, and brain oxidative stress in rats. It has been indicated that methyl jasmonate stimulates calcium-binding protein expression and increases intracellular calcium (Ca2+). Therefore, we investigated the potential role of L-type calcium channel on methyl jasmonate effects. The animals were intracerebroventriculary (i.c.v.) injected with different doses of methyl jasmonate (0.5, 2.5, and 5 µg/rat). L-type calcium channel blocker (nifedipine 5 µg/rat, i.c.v.) was injected 30 min be...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - May 20, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Effects of remifentanil/histamine mixtures in rats responding under a choice procedure
Intravenous drug self-administration remains the ‘gold standard’ for assessing abuse liability. Failure of a drug to maintain self-administration might indicate the absence of positive reinforcing effects but might also indicate the presence of aversive effects. Sensitivity to aversive and punishing effects of drugs (as well as nondrug stimuli) might collectively determine the likelihood of use, abuse and relapse. Using a choice procedure, this study compared the effects of remifentanil (mu opioid receptor agonist; 0.001–0.01 mg/kg/infusion) and histamine (H1-4 receptor agonist; 0.32–3.2 mg/kg/infusion), alone and ...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - May 20, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, exendin-4, reduces reinstatement of heroin-seeking behavior in rats
In this study, we used a reward devaluation model in which rats avoid ingesting a saccharin solution that predicts drug availability to test the effects of 2.4 μg/kg Ex-4 on responding for a natural reward cue (i.e., saccharin) and on cue- and drug-induced heroin seeking. The results showed that treatment with Ex-4 during the 16-day abstinence period and on the test day decreased cue-induced heroin seeking. Drug-induced heroin seeking also was reduced by Ex-4, but only when using a 1 h, but not a 6 h, pretreatment time. Treatment with Ex-4 did not alter intake of the saccharin cue when the drug was on board, but a history...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - May 20, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Acute intrathecal administration of quipazine elicits air-stepping behavior
Serotonin plays a pivotal role in the initiation and modulation of locomotor behavior in the intact animal, as well as following spinal cord injury. Quipazine, a serotonin 2 receptor agonist, has been used successfully to initiate and restore motor behavior in rodents. Although evidence suggests that the effects of quipazine are spinally mediated, it is unclear whether intrathecal (IT) quipazine administration alone is enough to activate locomotor-like activity or whether additional stimulation is needed. Thus, the current study examined the effects of IT administration of quipazine in postnatal day 1 rats in two separate ...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - May 20, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Baclofen and naltrexone, but not N-acetylcysteine, affect voluntary alcohol drinking in rats regardless of individual levels of alcohol intake
In humans, there is profound individual variation in the risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Because GABA, opioid and glutamate neurotransmission have been implicated in AUD, functional differences in these neural systems may underlie the individual vulnerability to AUD. We therefore determined the effects of drugs affecting GABA, opioid and glutamatergic neurotransmission on alcohol consumption in rats that differed in baseline alcohol intake. Subgroups of low-, medium- and high-alcohol-drinking rats were selected on the basis of alcohol consumption using an intermittent alcohol access procedure. The subgroups were treate...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Short Report Source Type: research
Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on ethanol’s rewarding properties and dopaminergic alterations in mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways
Recent reports have shown that N-acetylcysteine (N-AC) has beneficial effects in the treatment of cocaine and nicotine abuse. Considering the similar neurobiologic mechanisms involved in the development of addiction to different drugs, N-AC treatment could be useful in the treatment of ethanol abuse. The rewarding properties of the drugs of abuse plays an important role in the development of addiction and can be studied using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Thus, to study the effects of N-AC treatment in the rewarding effects of ethanol, we investigated the effects of N-AC administration in the ethanol-ind...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Neuroimaging reveals functionally distinct neuronal networks associated with high-level alcohol consumption in two genetic rat models
In conclusion, our data reveal strikingly different brain circuits associated with alcohol drinking in two genetically different rat lines and suggest innately different motivational and behavioral processes driving alcohol drinking. These findings have important implications for the use of these lines in translational alcohol research. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
The role of opioidergic system in modulating cost/benefit decision-making in alcohol-preferring AA rats and Wistar rats
In this study, Alko Alcohol (AA) and Wistar rats went through operant lever pressing training where the task was to choose the more profitable of two options. Different sized sucrose rewards guided the lever choices, and the probability of gaining rewards changed slowly to a level where choosing the smaller reward was the most profitable option. After training, rats were administered subcutaneously with opioid agonist morphine or opioid antagonist naltrexone to study the impact of opioidergic mechanisms on cost/benefit decisions. No difference was found in the decision-making between AA rats or Wistar rats after the morphi...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Significant association of nicotine reinforcement and cue reactivity: a translational study in humans and rats
Relapse is common amongst smokers attempting to quit and tobacco cue-induced craving is an important relapse mechanism. Preclinical studies commonly use cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking to investigate relapse neurobiology. Previous research suggests dependence severity and nicotine intake history affect smoking resumption and cue-induced reinstatement of nicotine seeking. However, behavioural data may be interpreted in terms of nicotine reinforcement. This translational study investigated if individual differences in objectively assessed nicotine reinforcement strength were associated with cue-reactivity in bo...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Effects of olanzapine on anxiety-related behaviour in male and female rats assessed after 21–24 and 42–45 days of chronic treatment
Olanzapine can decrease anxiety and impair memory, but there is limited information about length of treatment or sex differences in its effectiveness. Therefore, effects of 21–24 and 41–45 days of treatment and sex differences on anxiety-related behaviour and spatial memory were assessed in PVG/c (PVG/c is the internationally recognised way of referring to this rat strain) male and female rats. From 70 days after birth (PND70), all rats received no drug or 6, 11 or 15 mg/kg/day olanzapine via drinking water. From PND91, they were given four daily tests in an open field, light–dark box, zero maze and Y maze, and...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Intravenous doxapram administration as a potential model of panic attacks in rats
This study suggests that the cardiorespiratory and behavioral effects of doxapram in rodents serve as an experimental model that can provide insights into the neurobiology of panic attacks. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Glibenclamide treatment prevents depressive-like behavior and memory impairment induced by chronic unpredictable stress in female mice
Glibenclamide is a second-generation sulfonylurea used in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The primary target of glibenclamide is ATP-sensitive potassium channels inhibition; however, other possible targets include the control of inflammation and blood–brain barrier permeability, which makes this compound potentially interesting for the management of brain-related disorders. Here, we showed that systemic treatment with glibenclamide (5 mg/kg, p.o., for 21 days) could prevent the behavioral despair and the cognitive dysfunction induced by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) in mice. In nonhypoglycemic doses, ...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Antinociception produced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in female vs male rats
The primary aim of this study was to examine sex differences in acute antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in rats. Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) was administered to adult Sprague–Dawley rats to induce pain and inflammation in one hindpaw; 2.5 h later, vehicle or a single dose of the NSAIDs ibuprofen (1.0–32 mg/kg) or ketoprofen (0.1–10 mg/kg), or the COX-2-preferring inhibitor celecoxib (1.0–10 mg/kg) was injected i.p. Mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgesia, biased weight-bearing, and hindpaw thickness were assessed 0.5–24 h after drug inj...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
‘Reinventing the wheel’ to advance the development of pain therapeutics
This article reviews the literature using wheel running to assess pain and makes the case for home cage wheel running as an effective and clinically relevant method to screen novel analgesics for therapeutic potential. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research
Tetracyclines, a promise for neuropsychiatric disorders: from adjunctive therapy to the discovery of new targets for rational drug design in psychiatry
In conclusion, tetracyclines hold great promise as (ready-to-use) agents for being used as adjunctive therapy for human neuropsychiatric disorders. Hence, the understanding of their molecular mechanisms may contribute to the discovery of new targets for the rational drug design of novel psychoactive agents. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - March 23, 2021 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research
