Repeated balance exercise promotes cholinergic neuroprotection of the pedunculopontine nucleus in a progressive model of Parkinson's disease.

Vestibular rehabilitation (VR) is a therapeutic approach that minimizes the impacts of balance alterations by enhancing the central vestibular compensation mechanism. The present study investigates the effect of repeated balance exercises on the central vestibular compensation mechanism in a reserpine-induced progressive model of parkinsonism in aged rats. Male Wistar rats were assigned to three cohort experiments: Exp 1: repeated balance exercises (narrow beam test) - performed every 48 h during 20 days; Exp 2: balance exercises performed on the 0 and 8 days; Exp 3: balance exercises performed only on the 0 and 20 days.

Genetic effects in a progressive model of parkinsonism induced by reserpine.

Objective And Methods: We investigated the locomotor, emotional, physiological, and neurobiological effects induced by low-dose reserpine repeated treatment (0.1 mg/kg; 14 injections) in males from the Lewis (LEW), Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR), and SHR.LEW-(D4Rat76-D4Mgh11) (SLA16) isogenic rat strains, which have different genetic backgrounds on chromosome 4.

Balance alterations and reduction of pedunculopontine cholinergic neurons in early stages of parkinsonism in middle-aged rats.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate balance alterations and the possible role of the cholinergic neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) in the early stages of a progressive animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-eight middle-aged (8-9 months) male Wistar rats received 4 or 10 subcutaneous vehicle (control, CTL) or reserpine (RES) injections (0.1 mg/kg).

Patterns of c-Fos expression in telencephalic areas of Tropidurus hygomi (Iguania: Tropiduridae) exposed to different social contexts.

Social behavior in lizards contributes to understanding biological standards and provides models for structuring research about neural mechanisms. Studies have confirmed the effectiveness of comparative models and evidence has contributed to clarifying adult brain plasticity phenomenon when exposed to different stimuli. The expression of c-Fos has been widely used to identify brain areas involved in different behavioral stimuli.

Depressant effect of geraniol on the central nervous system of rats: Behavior and ECoG power spectra.

Geraniol is a monoterpene alcohol that is derived from the essential oils of aromatic plants, with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. This study characterized the effect of geraniol on behavior and brainwave patterns in rats. Male rats were submitted to administration of geraniol (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg).