Effects of MK-801 on recovery from sensorimotor cortex lesions.

Histologic evidence suggests that drugs acting as noncompetitive antagonists at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor can have beneficial or pathologic effects on central nervous system neurons. In the present experiments we examined the effects of MK-801 on recovery of behavioral function after unilateral lesions in the rat somatic sensorimotor cortex. In the first experiment, rats with unilateral sensorimotor cortex lesions were given either MK-801 (1 mg/kg) or saline 12-16 hours after surgery.

The recovery of forelimb-placing behavior in rats with neonatal unilateral cortical damage involves the remaining hemisphere.

Following unilateral lesions of the somatic sensorimotor cortex (SMC) in neonatal, but not adult, rats, an aberrant ipsilateral corticospinal projection originates from the undamaged hemisphere (Hicks and D'Amato, 1970; Leong and Lund, 1973; Castro, 1975). We have evaluated the contribution of the hemisphere contralateral to a unilateral lesion of the SMC in the recovery of tactile forelimb-placing behavior. Neither adult-lesioned or neonatally lesioned animals show evidence for placing deficits with either forelimb when tested 30 or 42 d after the lesion.

Functional subdivisions of the rat somatic sensorimotor cortex.

The behavioural impairments and subsequent recovery were studied in rats with circumscribed unilateral lesions in the somatic sensorimotor cortex (SMC). Lesions were made in the caudal forelimb region (CFL), the rostral forelimb region (RFL), the anteromedial cortex (AMC) or the hindlimb area. Rats with damage in the CFL produced a deficit in placing the forelimb contralateral to the lesion during exploratory locomotion on a grid surface.

[Psychiatric diagnoses in self-help groups of the "Only Anxiety" society in Bergen].

45 members of self-help groups for persons with anxiety disorders were interviewed using Structured Clinical Interview of DSM-III-R. 21 interviews were video-recorded and rated by an independent rater. Panic disorder was the most common diagnosis, together with present or past serious depression.

Benzodiazepine receptor autoradiography in corpus striatum of rat after large frontal cortex lesions and chronic treatment with diazepam.

It has previously been shown that diazepam impairs behavioural recovery from partial unilateral ablation of the cerebral cortex in rats. The present study confirmed this in rats with large unilateral lesions of the frontal cortex and showed that diazepam (5 mg/kg i.p.

Effects of ageing on the behavioural responses to dopamine agonists: decreased yawning and locomotion, but increased stereotypy.

Sensorimotor function and the behavioural responses to a range of doses of subcutaneous apomorphine were assessed in mature (6-8 months) and old (23-26 months) Sprague-Dawley rats of comparable weight. In addition, the locomotor activity response of 12-month-old and 24-month-old rats to continuous infusions (14 days by osmotic minipump) of a selective dopamine D2 agonist. (+)-4-propyl-9-hydroxynaphthoxazine (PHNO, 10 micrograms/h) was investigated.

Tritiation of [8-L-arginine, 9-desglycineamide] vasopressin.

Tritiated vasopressin analogue, [8-L-arginine, 9-desglycineamide]-vasopressin was prepared from its diiodo-derivative by means of catalytic reductive dehalogenation. The reaction products were purified by reversed-phase HPLC resulting in a labelled peptide with high specific radioactivity (629 TBq/mmol).

Substantia nigra pars reticulata modulates spontaneous and goal-directed behaviour of rat.

Spontaneous and active avoidance behaviour was compared pre- and postoperatively on 11 six month old male hooded rats of the Long-Evans strain. Seven of them with small bilateral symmetric lesions only in the ventromedial part of substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) were characterized by a strong decrease of exploratory parameters except rearings, without differences of ambulatory activity in the open field (OF) test. The SNR group showed a significant retention loss, increased reaction times and run durations in three variants of preoperatively consolidated Y-maze performance and weakened brightness discrimination.

[Synthesis and pharmacological properties of des-9-glycine analogs of [Orn8]vasopressin].

Three new analogues of vasopressin, viz. des-Gly9-[Phe2, Orn8]vasopressin, diglycyl-des-Gly9-[Phe2, Orn8]vasopressin, and diglycyl-des-Gly9-[Val4, Orn8]vasopressin, were synthesized to investigate the structure-function relationship. Hormonal (vasopressor, antidiuretic, uterotonic, galactogogic) activities of the new compounds were determined, their effect on elaboration and retention of the active avoidance behaviour in rats was studied.

Plasma concentrations of factor VIII after administration of DDAVP to conscious dogs.

The effect of the vasopressin analogue DDAVP on Factor VIII in plasma has been extensively studied in humans. To examine the effect of new and potentially better analogues a suitable animal model has to be established. In the present study trained Beagle dogs were injected with DDAVP and the time course of the Factor VIII response was monitored by a modification of the chromogenic substrate assay for Factor VIII.

Effect of threonine in position 4 in oxytocin and vasotocin analogs on the time course of uterotonic response.

The substitution of glutamine by threonine in position 4 of oxytocin, deamino-oxytocin, deamino-1-carba-oxytocin, and deamino-6-carba-oxytocin was found to increase the elimination rate of all analogs examined from the uterine receptor compartment in rat. However, this substitution was without any effect on the time course of uterotonic response in the case of vasotocin and deamino-vasotocin. These results suggest that the topological relationships of the 4 and 8 positions may show an important effect on elimination rate of oxytocin and vasotocin analogs from the rat uterine compartment.

Improved behavioral performance of rats after pre- and postnatal administration of vasopressin.

In two separate and independent experimental series it was studied, whether 8-arginine-vasopressin (AVP) or 8-lysine-vasopressin (LVP) administered daily in microgram amounts to pregnant rats, and/or to their offspring postnatally for 30 days, induce alterations that can be registered by a behavioral test. The realization of the test used, a foot-shock motivated brightness discrimination (BD) reaction, includes learning and memory processes. There is one general result of the two experimental series, which include 263 rats divided up in different combinations of pretreatment.

Effects of oxytocin-related peptides on acute morphine tolerance: opposite actions by oxytocin and its receptor antagonists.

The hormonally and behaviorally active nonapeptide oxytocin (OXT), its behaviorally active N-terminal octapeptide desglycinamide9-OXT and Z-prolyl-D-leucine, a synthetic analog of the C-terminal prolyl7-leucine8 sequence, inhibited the development both of a moderate and of a strong tolerance to morphine. N-alpha-Acetyl-(2-0-methyltyrosine)-OXT and (penicillamine1-2-0-methyltyrosine)- lysine8-vasopressin, both OXT receptor antagonists, facilitated the development of a moderate morphine tolerance. The i.

Somatosensorimotor function of the superior colliculus, somatosensory cortex, and lateral hypothalamus in the rat.

The role of the superior colliculus in multimodal sensory function is unsettled, in large part because a clear distinction between the somatosensory effects and the postural/motor effects of damage to the deep layers of the superior colliculus has not been obtained. Unilateral lesions of the entire superior colliculus impair orienting of the head and eyes to tactile, visual, and auditory stimuli presented on the side of the body contralateral to the lesion; however, even in the absence of sensory stimulation animals with such a lesion tend to circle ipsiversively and fail to make contralateral head movements. To determine whether or not unilateral damage to the superior colliculus produces a somatosensory asymmetry independently of head movement/circling biases, a neurological test was used in which lateral head or trunk movements were not required.

Recovery of function after brain damage: severe and chronic disruption by diazepam.

Following unilateral damage to the anterior-medial region of the neocortex (AMC) in rats a sensory asymmetry appeared, but recovered within a week. In a separate group of rats with AMC lesions daily 3-week exposure to diazepam (Valium, 5 mg/kg) beginning 12 h after surgery caused recovery to be delayed indefinitely. The efficiency and speed (as opposed to symmetry) of behavior was not impaired.

Ventral scent marking in Meriones unguiculatus may contribute to thermoregulation.

Three experiments were conducted with adult male Meriones unguiculatus in an attempt to demonstrate that ventral scent marking can act to transfer body heat to the object marked. Experiment 1 showed that surgical removal of the ventral gland pad reduced the amount of heat transferred by 50%, even though intact and glandless animals did not differ in the average frequency of scent marking. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the difference in heat transfer due to the presence or absence of the scent pad was not due to differential pressure applied to the substrate during marking.

On the blood-brain barrier to peptides: accumulation of labelled vasopressin, DesGlyNH2-vasopressin and oxytocin by brain regions.

After intracarotid injection of 125I-arginine vasopressin (AVP), 125I- or 3H-lysine vasopressin (LVP), 3H-DesGlyNH2-arginine vasopressin (DGAVP), and 125I- or 3H-oxytocin (OXT), the accumulation of radioactivity was determined in 13 to 18 brain regions and anterior pituitary in rats. Calculated extraction by tight capillary regions amounts to about 1-2% independently of the peptide doses injected (4 X 10(-4) to 5 X 10(-9) mol-1). This indicates a low but measurable extraction of labelled peptides which furthermore is nonsaturable.

Natriuretic properties of [2-p-ethylphenylalanine] deamino-6-carba-oxytocin (Nacartocin) in cats.

Nacartocin, a synthetic analogue of oxytocin, [2-L-p-phenylalanine]deamino-6-carba-oxytocin has a specific natriuretic effect in cats. The doses of 0.05-10 micrograms/kg b.

Nacartocin--analogue of oxytocin with enhanced natriuretic properties: natriuretic and hemodynamic characteristics.

Nacartocin, [2-p-ethylphenylalanine]deamino-6-carba-oxytocin, is almost three times more potent than oxytocin as a natriuretic agent. The natriuretic effect is mainly due to the inhibitory action of the peptide on tubular sodium resorption. Nacartocin decreased the blood pressure of anesthetized rats by the decrease of the total peripheral resistance which was greater than that observed after oxytocin administration.