Effect of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on the GASH/Sal Audiogenic-Seizure-Prone Hamster.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjuvant neuromodulation therapy for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. However, the mechanisms behind its effectiveness are not fully understood. Our aim was to develop a VNS protocol for the Genetic Audiogenic Seizure Hamster from Salamanca (GASH/Sal) in order to evaluate the mechanisms of action of the therapy.

Proteomic and Bioinformatic Tools to Identify Potential Hub Proteins in the Audiogenic Seizure-Prone Hamster GASH/Sal.

The GASH/Sal (Genetic Audiogenic Seizure Hamster, Salamanca) is a model of audiogenic seizures with the epileptogenic focus localized in the inferior colliculus (IC). The sound-induced seizures exhibit a short latency (7-9 s), which implies innate protein disturbances in the IC as a basis for seizure susceptibility and generation. Here, we aim to study the protein profile in the GASH/Sal IC in comparison to controls.

An affordable implantable vagus nerve stimulator system for use in animal research.

In this research, a vagus nerve stimulator has been developed and miniaturized for use in epilepsy research. The board contains all the components necessary for its operation during the standard duration of the experiments, being possible to control it once implanted and even being able to reuse it. The VNS system has been designed for rodents since the VNS devices available for human are not only too large for laboratory animals, but also too expensive.

Behavioral and Molecular Effects Induced by Cannabidiol and Valproate Administration in the GASH/Sal Model of Acute Audiogenic Seizures.

Despite evidence that supports cannabidiol (CBD) as an anticonvulsant agent, there remains controversy over the antiseizure efficacy, possible adverse effects, and synergistic interactions with classic antiepileptics such as valproate (VPA). The genetic audiogenic seizure hamster from the University of Salamanca (GASH/Sal) is a reliable experimental model of generalized tonic-clonic seizures in response to intense sound stimulation. The present study examines the behavioral and molecular effects of acute and chronic intraperitoneal administrations of VPA (300 mg/kg) and CBD (100 mg/kg) on the GASH/Sal audiogenic seizures, as well as the coadministration of both drugs.

Direct and indirect nigrofugal projections to the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis mediate in the motor execution of the acoustic startle reflex.

The acoustic startle reflex (ASR) is a short and intense defensive reaction in response to a loud and unexpected acoustic stimulus. In the rat, a primary startle pathway encompasses three serially connected central structures: the cochlear root neurons, the giant neurons of the nucleus reticularis pontis caudalis (PnC), and the spinal motoneurons. As a sensorimotor interface, the PnC has a central role in the ASR circuitry, especially the integration of different sensory stimuli and brain states into initiation of motor responses.

Long-Term Sertraline Intake Reverses the Behavioral Changes Induced by Prenatal Stress in Rats in a Sex-Dependent Way.

Early life stress is a major factor underlying the vulnerability to respond to stressful events later in life. The present study attempted to evaluate the role of prenatal stress affecting the development of stress-related disorders and their reversion by postnatal exposure to Sertraline (SERT), a front-line medication for medication for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in humans. To achieve this, adult male and female prenatally stressed (PS) or unstressed (Controls) offspring rats, following oral chronic treatment with SERT (5 mg/kg/day; from 1 month to 4 months old), or not, were studied prior to and after a traumatic event.

Heterozygous disruption of activin receptor-like kinase 1 is associated with increased arterial pressure in mice.

The activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK-1) is a type I cell-surface receptor for the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family of proteins. Hypertension is related to TGF-β1, because increased TGF-β1 expression is correlated with an elevation in arterial pressure (AP) and TGF-β expression is upregulated by the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of ALK-1 in regulation of AP using Alk1 haploinsufficient mice (Alk1(+/-)).

The effects of sertraline administration from adolescence to adulthood on physiological and emotional development in prenatally stressed rats of both sexes.

Sertraline (SERT) is a clinically effective Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) known to increase and stabilize serotonin levels. This neurotransmitter plays an important role in adolescent brain development in both rodents and humans, and its dysregulation has been correlated with deficits in behavior and emotional regulation. Since prenatal stress may disturb serotoninergic homeostasis, the aim of this study was to examine the long-lasting effects of exposure to SERT throughout adolescence on behavioral and physiological developmental parameters in prenatally stressed Wistar rats.

Origin and function of short-latency inputs to the neural substrates underlying the acoustic startle reflex.

The acoustic startle reflex (ASR) is a survival mechanism of alarm, which rapidly alerts the organism to a sudden loud auditory stimulus. In rats, the primary ASR circuit encompasses three serially connected structures: cochlear root neurons (CRNs), neurons in the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC), and motoneurons in the medulla and spinal cord. It is well-established that both CRNs and PnC neurons receive short-latency auditory inputs to mediate the ASR.

The noradrenergic projection from the locus coeruleus to the cochlear root neurons in rats.

The cochlear root neurons (CRNs) are key components of the primary acoustic startle circuit; mediating auditory alert and escape behaviors in rats. They receive a great variety of inputs which serve to elicit and modulate the acoustic startle reflex (ASR). Recently, our group has suggested that CRNs receive inputs from the locus coeruleus (LC), a noradrenergic nucleus which participates in attention and alertness.

A fast cholinergic modulation of the primary acoustic startle circuit in rats.

Cochlear root neurons (CRNs) are the first brainstem neurons which initiate and participate in the full expression of the acoustic startle reflex. Although it has been suggested that a cholinergic pathway from the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) conveys auditory prepulses to the CRNs, the neuronal origin of the VNTB-CRNs projection and the role it may play in the cochlear root nucleus remain uncertain. To determine the VNTB neuronal type which projects to CRNs, we performed tract-tracing experiments combined with mechanical lesions, and morphometric analyses.

Chronic administration of risperidone in a rat model of schizophrenia: a behavioural, morphological and molecular study.

In the present work we analyzed the effect of the chronic administration of risperidone (2mg/kg over 65 days) on behavioural, morphological and molecular aspects in an experimental model of schizophrenia obtained by bilateral injection of ibotenic acid into the ventral hippocampus of new-born rats. Our results show that during their adult lives the animals with hippocampal lesions exhibit different alterations, mainly at behavioural level and in the gene expression of dopamine D(2) and 5-HT(2A) receptors. However, at morphological level the study performed on the prefrontal cortex did not reveal any alterations in either the thickness or the number of cells immunoreactive for c-Fos, GFAP, CBP or PV.

Chronic administration of risperidone to healthy rats: a behavioural and morphological study.

Taking into account that most of the experimental research into the effects of antipsychotic drugs has mainly focused on behavioural aspects, the aim of the present work is to investigate the effects of a chronic therapeutic dose of risperidone (1 mg/kg/day during 140 days) on both behavioural and morphological aspects in healthy rats. The behavioural results revealed only minor modifications in prepulse inhibition, showing the risperidone-treated group higher values at 70 days of treatment with respect to the vehicle group. Moreover, in the open-field test, this group showed a greater incidence of grooming.

Correlation between prepulse inhibition and cortical perfusion during an attentional test in schizophrenia. A pilot study.

Background: Processes underlying cortical hypoactivation in schizophrenia are poorly understood but some evidence suggests that a deficient sensory filtering is associated with the condition. This filtering deficit can be studied by using measures of prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex.

Objective: To evaluate the contribution of sensory filtering deficits to cortical hypoperfusion during an attention test in schizophrenia.

Neurochemistry of the afferents to the rat cochlear root nucleus: possible synaptic modulation of the acoustic startle.

Afferents to the primary startle circuit are essential for the elicitation and modulation of the acoustic startle reflex (ASR). In the rat, cochlear root neurons (CRNs) comprise the first component of the acoustic startle circuit and play a crucial role in mediating the ASR. Nevertheless, the neurochemical pattern of their afferents remains unclear.

Ab initio and DFT study of the geometric structures and static dipole (hyper)polarizabilities of aromatic anions.

The geometries and the static dipole (hyper)polarizabilities (alpha, beta, gamma) of a series of aromatic anions were investigated at the ab initio (HF, MP2, and MP4) and density functional theory DFT (B3LYP) levels of theory. The anions chosen for the present study are the benzenethiolate (Ph-S-), benzenecarboxylate (Ph-CO2-), benzenesulfinate (Ph-SO2-), benzenesulfonate (Ph-SO3-), and 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate (1,3-Ph-(CO2)2(2-)). For benzenethiolate anion, additional alpha, beta, and gamma calculations were performed at the coupled cluster CCSD level with MP2 optimized geometries.

[Simultaneous transplantation of fetal mesencephalic cells to the striatum and globus pallidus of rats with lesions induced by 6-hydroxydopamine].

Introduction: Studies of neural transplants in experimental models of Parkinson's disease have concentrated their attention on ectopic transplants of foetal mesencephalic cells to denervated striatum. However, the external globus pallidus has recently been shown to play an important part in the physiopathology of this disease.

Objective: Bearing in mind the importance of loss of extra-striatal dopamine in the genesis of the clinical signs found in parkinsonism, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of foetal mesencephalic transplantation to the globus pallidus of hemiparkinsonian rats.

Antioxidant systemic effect of short-term Cerebrolysin administration.

Levels of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were determinate in serum of intact rats (INT) and those with septohippocampal pathway lesion (SHPL), which received Cerebrolysin (CRB) or saline solution (SAL) for a week. We found that Cerebrolysin induces a decrease on the CAT and SOD levels. Decrease of CAT levels (19.

[Nerve growth factor and diabetic neuropathy].

Introduction: The progress made by contemporary neurobiology opens new horizons both for study and for treatment of disorders of the nervous system. At the present time we are in the age of growth factors. These are molecules which affect survival, development and the normal functioning of cell populations.

[Transplantation of fetal dopaminergic cells simultaneously to the corpus striatum and pars reticularis of the substantia nigra in hemi-parkinsonian rats].

Introduction: Transplantation of foetal dopaminergic cells has been extensively used as restorative treatment for Parkinson's disease.

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the survival, modifications in rotatory activity induced by D-amphetamine and total content of dopamine in the striatal and nigra regions of hemiparkinsonian rats which had had foetal mesencephalic cells simultaneously transplanted to the striatum and pars reticularis of the substancia nigra.

Material And Methods: The study was done using adult male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 gms.

[Indicators of oxidative stress and the effect of antioxidant treatment in patients with primary Parkinson disease].

Introduction And Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive, slow loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substance nigra. Although the cause of this neurone loss is unknown, at the present time many papers suggest oxidative stress (OS), secondary to dopaminergic metabolism, as an aetiopathogenic factor of PD. Therefore study of the part played by OS in this would permit the use of antioxidants (AO) as another possibility for treatment of the disease.

[Neuronal toxicity of human recombinant interleukin-2 in rats. Morphological and behavioral validation].

Introduction And Objective: The memory impairment which accompanies the aging process is a manifestation of diminished cognitive function. This is intimately related to neuropathological and biochemical changes in cholinergic areas of central nervous system (CNS). Cytokines, first described as immunoregulators, are also implied in defense reactions of the brain.

Septal fetal tissue transplants restore long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus of fimbria-formix-lesioned rats.

Two groups of Sprague-Dawley male rats received bilateral aspirative lesions of the fimbria fornix under chloral hydrate anesthesia. One group (n = 9) received no further treatment (lesioned). In the second group (n = 8), a piece of septal fetal tissue, obtained at day E15-16, was implanted into each lesion cavity (transplanted).