Inhaled nitric oxide improves short term memory and reduces the inflammatory reaction in a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury.

Although the mechanisms underlying mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are becoming well understood, treatment options are still limited. In the present study, mTBI was induced by a weight drop model to produce a closed head injury to mice and the effect of inhaled nitric oxide (INO) was evaluated by a short term memory task (object recognition task) and immunohistochemical staining of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and CD45 for the detection of reactive astrocytes and microglia. Results showed that mTBI model did not produce brain edema, skull fracture or sensorimotor coordination dysfunctions.

Neuroprotection by inhaled nitric oxide in a murine stroke model is concentration and duration dependent.

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) has been shown to reduce ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in several different organ systems including the brain. We investigated whether iNO was neuroprotective in a mouse model of transient focal ischemia. Male Swiss Webster mice underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion for 1 h followed by reperfusion for 47 h.

Cognitive and sensorimotor tasks for assessing functional impairments in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.

In the last couple of decades, substantial progress has been made in the development of transgenic mouse models developing amyloid-β deposits and/or neurofibrillary tangles. These mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders provide an excellent tool for investigating etiology, pathogenic mechanisms, and potential treatments. An essential component of their characterization is a detailed behavioral assessment, which clarifies the functional consequences of these pathologies.

Nimodipine-induced hypotension but not nitroglycerin-induced hypotension preserves long- and short-term memory in adult mice.

Background: Acute hypotension may be implicated in cognitive dysfunction. L-type calcium channel blockers in the setting of hypoxia are protective of learning and memory. We tested the hypothesis that hypotension induced by nimodipine (NIMO) and nicardipine (NICA) would be protective of long- and short-term memory compared to hypotension induced by nitroglycerin (NTG).

The role of the central noradrenergic system in behavioral inhibition.

Although the central noradrenergic system has been shown to be involved in a number of behavioral and neurophysiological processes, the relation of these to its role in depressive illness has been difficult to define. The present review discusses the hypothesis that one of its chief functions that may be related to affective illness is the inhibition of behavioral activation, a prominent symptom of the disorder. This hypothesis is found to be consistent with most previous neuropsychopharmacological and immunohistochemical experiments on active behavior in rodents in a variety of experimental conditions using manipulation of neurotransmission at both locus coeruleus and forebrain adrenergic receptors.