Purmorphamine Alters Anxiety-Like Behavior and Expression of Hedgehog Cascade Components in Rat Brain after Alcohol Withdrawal.

Disturbances in the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling play an important role in dysmorphogenesis of bone tissue and central nervous system during prenatal alcohol exposure, which underlies development of fetal alcohol syndrome. The involvement of Hh proteins in the mechanisms of alcohol intake in adults remains obscure. We investigated the role of the Hh cascade in voluntary ethanol drinking and development of anxiety-like behavior (ALB) during early abstinence and assessed changes in the expression of Hh pathway components in different brain regions of male Wistar rats in a model of voluntary alcohol drinking using the intermittent access to 20% ethanol in a two-bottle choice procedure.

Contribution of Visceral Systems to the Development of Substance Use Disorders: Translational Aspects of Interaction between Central and Peripheral Mechanisms.

Substance use disorders are associated with structural and functional changes in the neuroendocrine, neuromediator, and neuromodulator systems in brain areas involved in the reward and stress response circuits. Chronic intoxication provokes emergence of somatic diseases and aggravates existing pathologies. Substance use disorders and somatic diseases often exacerbate the clinical courses of each other.

An Intricated of Addicted Brain and Body Is Orchestrated by Stress and Neuroplasticity.

Dependence on psychoactive substances is a phenomenon that is based on the alterations of common molecular and cellular mechanisms, structures and neuronal networks underlying normal brain functioning and realizing stress response, reinforcement and aversion, learning and memory. As a result, aberrant neuroplasticity states associated with somatic changes are formed, which determine the pathogenesis and symptoms of dependence and at the same time can be considered as targets for the development of therapies for such addictions. An integrative scheme of stress and neuroplastic changes participation in the formation of the vicious circle of substance use disorders based on a holistic approach is presented.

The impact of long-term isolation on anxiety, depressive-like and social behavior in aging Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) male rats.

Aging is a complex process associated with multimorbidity. Hypertension, one of widespread states, is among main causes of age-related alterations in behavior, emotionality and sociability. We studied the effects of long-term isolated housing on anxiety, depressive-like and social behavior as well as changes in the adrenocortical and sympathetic systems in the aging normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

N-Pep-Zn Improves Cognitive Functions and Acute Stress Response Affected by Chronic Social Isolation in Aged Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHRs).

Background/objectives: Aging and chronic stress are regarded as the most important risk factors of cognitive decline. Aged spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) represent a suitable model of age-related vascular brain diseases. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of chronic isolation stress in aging SHRs on their cognitive functions and response to acute stress, as well as the influence of the chronic oral intake of N-Pep-Zn, the Zn derivative of N-PEP-12.