Poly-Arginine Peptides R18 and R18D Improve Functional Outcomes After Endothelin-1-Induced Stroke in the Sprague Dawley Rat.

We have previously demonstrated that R18 and its d-enantiomer, R18D, are neuroprotective at 24 hours following intraluminal filament occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO) in the rat. This study examined R18 and R18D effectiveness in improving functional outcomes at up to 56 days poststroke following endothelin-1-induced MCAO. Peptides were administered intravenously at doses of 100, 300, or 1000 nmol/kg, 60 minutes after MCAO.

Alterations to prepulse inhibition magnitude and latency in adult rats following neonatal treatment with domoic acid and social isolation rearing.

Deficits in perceptual, informational, and attentional processing are consistently identified as a core feature in schizophrenia and related neuropsychiatric disorders. Neonatal injections of low doses of the AMPA/kainate agonist domoic acid (DOM) have previously been shown to alter various aspects of perceptual and attentional processing in adult rats. The current study investigated the effects of combined neonatal DOM treatment with isolation rearing on prepulse inhibition behaviour and relevant neurochemical measures, to assess the usefulness of these paradigms in modeling neurodevelopmental disorders.

Models of progressive neurological dysfunction originating early in life.

It is now well established that many of society's most devastating and costly neurological diseases and disorders arise from trauma at, or shortly after birth. In some cases deficits are seen in childhood and in others they are substantially delayed; arising in adolescence or young adulthood. In either case the initial insult initiates a metabolic and/or neurodegenerative cascade that proceeds, often undetected, for a considerable period of time before diagnosable symptoms appear.

Neonatal domoic acid abolishes latent inhibition in male but not female rats and has differential interactions with social isolation.

Deficits in attention have long been identified as a core feature in schizophrenia and related neuropsychiatric disorders. We have investigated the combined effects of neonatal treatment with domoic acid (DOM) and social isolation rearing (both putative animal models of schizophrenia) on latent inhibition (LI), a measure of attentional processing. Daily subcutaneous injections of 20 μg/kg DOM or saline were administered to rat pups from postnatal days (PND) 8-14.

Neonatal domoic acid treatment produces alterations to prepulse inhibition and latent inhibition in adult rats.

Schizophrenia is a complex and severe mental disorder characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. Characteristic behavioral alterations reflecting these categories of symptoms have been observed in many animal models of this disorder, and are consistent with those manifested in the clinical population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether early alterations in glutamate signaling would result in alterations to prepulse inhibition (PPI) and latent inhibition (LI); two assessments used for evaluating putative novel animal models with relevance to schizophrenia.