Haloperidol-induced hypokinesia in rats is differentially affected by the light/dark phase, age, and melatonin.

It has been well established that the striatal dopaminergic system is compromised with aging, namely D2 receptor function. Also well documented is the age related decline of the neurohormone, melatonin, in both humans and nonhuman animals. What has not been well studied is the possible interaction between the D2 receptor system and the age related decline in melatonin with its unmistakable pattern of synthesis and release exclusively during the dark phase.

Procrastination, Flow, and Academic Performance in Real Time Using the Experience Sampling Method.

The authors' aim was to first provide an alternative methodology in the assessment of procrastination and flow that would not reply on retrospective or prospective self-reports. Using real-time assessment of both procrastination and flow, the authors investigated how these factors impact academic performance by using the Experience Sampling Method. They assessed flow by measuring student self-reported skill versus challenge, and procrastination by measuring the days to completion of an assignment.

Differential effects of a short-term high-fat diet in an animal model of depression in rats treated with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, ondansetron, the 5-HT3 receptor agonist, 2-methyl-5-HT, and the SSRI, fluoxetine.

Investigation into the effects of a high-fat diet on depression in the context of 5-HT3 receptor function is important given 5-HT3 antagonism may represent a novel candidate for drug discovery. To more fully understand the relationship between the 5-HT3 receptor system, depression, and high-fat intake, our main interest was to study the short-term effects of a high-fat diet on the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, ondansetron, and the 5-HT3 receptor agonist, 2-methyl-5-HT, as well as the SSRI, fluoxetine, in an animal model of depression. Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed either a standard diet (11% fat) or a high-fat diet (32.

Behavioral characterization and modulation of circadian rhythms by light and melatonin in C3H/HeN mice homozygous for the RORbeta knockout.

This study reports for the first time the effects of retinoid-related orphan receptors [RORbeta; receptor gene deletion RORbeta(C3H)(-/-)] in C3H/HeN mice on behavioral and circadian phenotypes. Pineal melatonin levels showed a robust diurnal rhythm with high levels at night in wild-type (+/+), heterozygous (+/-), and knockout (-/-) mice. The RORbeta(C3H)(-/-) mice displayed motor ("duck gait," hind paw clasping reflex) and olfactory deficits, and reduced anxiety and learned helplessness-related behaviors.

Prenatal exposure to the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor methanesulfonyl fluoride alters forebrain morphology and gene expression.

Methanesulfonyl fluoride (MSF) is a CNS-selective acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, currently being developed and tested for the treatment of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. We have previously confirmed that a single in utero exposure to MSF at clinically appropriate doses inhibits AChE activity in fetal rat brain by 20%, and when administered throughout gestation, MSF achieves a 40% level of inhibition. Here, we show that rats chronically exposed in utero to MSF display marked sex-specific differences in morphological development of the cerebral cortical layers compared with controls at 7 days of age.

Methanesulfonyl fluoride, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, attenuates simple learning and memory deficits in ischemic rats.

Methanesulfonyl fluoride (MSF), a highly selective CNS inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, has been recently demonstrated to promote improvement in cognitive performance in patients with senile dementia of Alzheimer type. Because a similar cognitive impairment may accompany stroke, we investigated in the present study whether treatment with MSF could produce beneficial effects in adult rats subjected to an experimental stroke model. Sprague-Dawley rats received transient 60 min intraluminal occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCAo) and were given i.