Neurometabolic effects of sweetened solution intake during adolescence related to depressive-like phenotype in rats.

Objective: Exposure to artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, during childhood and adolescence has been increasing in recent years. However, the safe use of aspartame has been questioned owing to its potentially harmful effects on the developing brain. The aim of this study was to test whether the chronic consumption of aspartame during adolescence leads to a depressive-like phenotype and to investigate the possible mechanisms underlying these behavioral changes.

Enteric glial reactivity to systemic LPS administration: Changes in GFAP and S100B protein.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is used to induce inflammation and promotes nervous system activation. Different regions of the brain present heterogeneous glial responses; thus, in order to verify whether systemic LPS-induced inflammation affects the enteric glia differently across the intestinal segments, we evaluated the expressions of two glial activity markers, GFAP and S100B protein, in different intestine segments, at 1h, 24h and 7days after acute systemic LPS administration (0.25 or 2.

Experimental model of tympanic colic (acute abdomen) in chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera).

Digestive disorders caused by sudden changes in diet or inappropriate diet are among the most common disorders of the digestive system. Cecal or intestinal tympany, one consequence of inappropriate diet, is characterized by the accumulation of gases, marked distension of the cecum and colon and the induction of inflammatory processes. To know the effects of intestinal tympany on the enteric plexuses, we developed a method of experimental tympanic colic (TC) in the Chinchilla lanigera.

Control of carbohydrate metabolism in an anoxia-tolerant nervous system.

Anoxia-tolerant animal models are crucial to understand protective mechanisms during low oxygen excursions. As glycogen is the main fermentable fuel supporting energy production during oxygen tension reduction, understanding glycogen metabolism can provide important insights about processes involved in anoxia survival. In this report we studied carbohydrate metabolism regulation in the central nervous system (CNS) of an anoxia-tolerant land snail during experimental anoxia exposure and subsequent reoxygenation.

Seasonal variations in the biochemical composition and reproductive cycle of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) in Southern Brazil.

The ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is found on sandy beaches from the United States to Southern Brazil. Because there is still little information about the metabolism and reproduction of O. quadrata on the southern coast of Brazil, the objectives of this study were to (i) evaluate the effect of seasonal variations on the carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism of O.