Interleukin-1β and TNF-α are elevated in the amygdala of adult rats prenatally exposed to ethanol.

Affective disorders, including anxiety and depression, developed in adult offspring of the mothers who consumed alcohol during pregnancy could be associated with an imbalance in neuroimmune factors in the amygdala (corpus amygdaloideum) resulted in impaired emotional stimulus processing. The aim of this study was to compare the content of cytokines TNF-α, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-10, and IL-17 in the amygdala of adult female rats exposed to alcohol in utero and control rats. Cytokine levels were evaluated using a multiplex immunoassay system; mRNA expression was investigated using a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay.

[Experimental approaches to the investigation of behavioral disorders associated with prenatal alcohol exposure].

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term which covers a wide range of deficits in prenatal and postnatal growth, anatomy and CNS functions produced by prenatal alcohol exposure. The most severe form of FASD is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) characterized by additional specific craniofacial and brain malformations. Despite a high prevalence and extensive clinical studies, the fundamental mechanisms of FASD are still poorly understood.

[An effect of cabergoline on alcohol consumption and DRD2 expression in the brain of rats with chronic alcohol intoxication].

Aim: Cabergoline is a high selective agonist of dopamine D2 receptors (D2R). The activation of D2R plays an important role in the regulation of dopamine transmission, the imbalance of which is thought to underlie the development of alcohol motivation. To examine this possibility, cabergoline effects on alcohol consumption and brain DRD2 expression in rats with chronic alcohol intoxication were studied.

Modulation of peripheral opioid receptors affects the concentration of mu-opioid receptors in rat brain.

Radioligand binding assay was used to evaluate characteristics of central mu-opioid receptors after peripheral administration of mu-opioid receptor agonist loperamide and antagonist methylnaloxone. These substances do not cross the blood-brain barrier. Loperamide and methylnaloxone produced opposite effects on the density of mu-opioid receptors in the frontal cortex of rat brain.

Effect of nooglutil on benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome and binding of 3H-spiperone with D2 receptors in rat striatum.

A new nootropic preparation nooglutil (N-(5-oxynicotinoyl)-L-glutamic acid), a positive modulator of AMPA receptors for glutamate, administered intraperitoneally in a dose of 70 mg/kg reduced anxiety of rats in the Vogel conflict test after 24-h withdrawal from chronic diazepam treatment (4 mg/kg intraperitoneally for 45 days). Nooglutil (5 nM-750 microM) had no effect on in vitro binding of (3)H-spiperone in intact rats. Systemic administration of 50 mg/kg nooglutil in vivo increased the dissociation constant and density of D(2)receptors.