Direct visualization of an antidepressant analog using surface-enhanced Raman scattering in the brain.

Detailed spatial information of low-molecular weight compound distribution, especially in the brain, is crucial to understanding their mechanism of actions. Imaging techniques that can directly visualize drugs in the brain at a high resolution will complement existing tools for drug distribution analysis. Here, we performed surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) imaging using a bioorthogonal alkyne tag to visualize drugs directly in situ at a high resolution.

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide Modulates Dendritic Spine Maturation and Morphogenesis via MicroRNA-132 Upregulation.

Alterations in pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), a multifunctional neuropeptide, and its receptors have been identified as risk factors for certain psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Increasing evidence from human genetic and animal model studies suggest an association between various psychiatric disorders and altered dendritic spine morphology. In the present study, we investigated the role of exogenous and endogenous PACAP in spine formation and maturation.

Rivastigmine improves isolation rearing-induced prepulse inhibition deficits via muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in mice.

Rationale: The acetylcholinesterase inhibitors donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine are used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. We previously demonstrated that donepezil and galantamine differentially affect isolation rearing-induced prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits and that this might be due to differential effects on brain muscarinic acetylcholine (mACh) receptor function in mice.

Objectives: We examined the effects of rivastigmine on isolation rearing-induced PPI deficits, brain ACh levels, and mACh receptor function in mice.

Reduced prefrontal dopaminergic activity in valproic acid-treated mouse autism model.

Previous studies suggest that dysfunction of neurotransmitter systems is associated with the pathology of autism in humans and the disease model rodents, but the precise mechanism is not known. Rodent offspring exposed prenatally to VPA shows autism-related behavioral abnormalities. The present study examined the effect of prenatal VPA exposure on brain monoamine neurotransmitter systems in male and female mice.

Galantamine promotes adult hippocampal neurogenesis via M₁ muscarinic and α7 nicotinic receptors in mice.

Galantamine, an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, promotes hippocampal neurogenesis, but the exact mechanism for this is not known. In the present study, we examined the mechanisms underlying the effects of acute galantamine on neurogenesis in the mouse hippocampus. Galantamine (3 mg/kg) increased the number of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus.

Atomoxetine-induced increases in monoamine release in the prefrontal cortex are similar in spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) are used as a model for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), since SHRs are hyperactive and show defective sustained attention in behavioral tasks. The psychostimulants amphetamine and methylphenidate and the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor atomoxetine are used as ADHD medications. The effects of high K(+) stimulation or psychostimulants on brain norepinephrine or dopamine release in SHRs have been previously studied both in vitro and in vivo, but the effects of atomoxetine on these neurotransmitters have not.

Effects of acute and chronic administration of venlafaxine and desipramine on extracellular monoamine levels in the mouse prefrontal cortex and striatum.

Prefrontal catecholamine neurotransmission plays a key role in the therapeutic actions of drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We have recently shown that serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors and the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor desipramine attenuated horizontal hyperactivity in spontaneously hypertensive rats, an animal model of ADHD, and that these drugs are potential pharmacotherapeutics for ADHD. In this study, we used in vivo microdialysis to study the effects of acute and chronic (once daily for 3 weeks) administration of the serotonin/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor venlafaxine and the noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor desipramine on noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin levels, and the expression of the neuronal activity marker c-Fos in the mouse prefrontal cortex and striatum.

Isolation rearing reduces mechanical allodynia in a mouse model of chronic inflammatory pain.

Social isolation rearing in mice after weaning reduces pain sensitivity to acute pain, and this hypoalgesia is mediated by the descending serotonergic pain inhibitory system in which the spinal serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor is involved. However, it is not known whether isolation rearing affects pain sensitivity to neuropathic or inflammatory chronic pain. In this study, we examined the effects of isolation rearing on chronic pain induced by Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and partial sciatic nerve ligation using the von Frey test (to assess mechanical allodynia) and the plantar test (to assess thermal hyperalgesia).

Inhibition of apelin expression switches endothelial cells from proliferative to mature state in pathological retinal angiogenesis.

The recruitment of mural cells such as pericytes to patent vessels with an endothelial lumen is a key factor for the maturation of blood vessels and the prevention of hemorrhage in pathological angiogenesis. To date, our understanding of the specific trigger underlying the transition from cell growth to the maturation phase remains incomplete. Since rapid endothelial cell growth causes pericyte loss, we hypothesized that suppression of endothelial growth factors would both promote pericyte recruitment, in addition to inhibiting pathological angiogenesis.