Protein expression in the nucleus accumbens of rats exposed to developmental vitamin D deficiency.

Introduction: Developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is a candidate risk factor for schizophrenia. Animal models have confirmed that DVD deficiency is associated with a range of altered genomic, proteomic, structural and behavioural outcomes in the rat. Because the nucleus accumbens has been implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, in the current study we examined protein expression in this region in adult rats exposed to DVD deficiency

Methods: Female Sprague Dawley rats were maintained on a vitamin D deficient diet for 6 weeks, mated and allowed to give birth, after which a diet containing vitamin D was reintroduced.

Protein expression profile in the amygdala of rats with methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization.

Repeated exposure to methamphetamine (MAP) results in a progressively enhanced and enduring behavioral response to the drug. This phenomenon is known as behavioral sensitization. MAP-induced sensitization has been suggested to underlie certain aspects of MAP psychosis and schizophrenia.

CNS proteomes in alcohol and drug abuse and dependence.

Drugs of abuse, including alcohol, can induce dependency formation and/or brain damage in brain regions important for cognition. 'High-throughput' approaches, such as cDNA microarray and proteomics, allow the analysis of global expression profiles of genes and proteins. These technologies have recently been applied to human brain tissue from patients with psychiatric illnesses, including substance abuse/dependence and appropriate animal models to help understand the causes and secondary effects of these complex disorders.

Adolescent rats find repeated Delta(9)-THC less aversive than adult rats but display greater residual cognitive deficits and changes in hippocampal protein expression following exposure.

The current study examined whether adolescent rats are more vulnerable than adult rats to the lasting adverse effects of cannabinoid exposure on brain and behavior. Male Wistar rats were repeatedly exposed to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC, 5 mg/kg i.p.

Protein expression profile in the striatum of rats with methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization.

Repeated administration of methamphetamine (MAP) results in an increased behavioral response to the drug during subsequent exposure. This phenomenon is called behavioral sensitization. Sensitization is an enduring phenomenon, and suggests chronic alterations in neuronal plasticity.

Protein expression profile in the striatum of acute methamphetamine-treated rats.

Purpose: Methamphetamine (MAP) is an addictive drug with psychostimulant effects. It is known that MAP induces behavioral changes, including hyperlocomotion and stereotypical movements in rodents. These behavioral changes induced by MAP have been compared with behavioral changes in patients with MAP addiction and MAP psychosis.

5-HT2A and muscarinic receptors in schizophrenia: a postmortem study.

Although evidence suggests that 5-HT(2A) and muscarinic M1/M4 receptors are implicated in the pathology of schizophrenia, the results are not conclusive. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that binding of 5-HT(2A) and M1/M4 receptors is altered in the postmortem brain of schizophrenia subjects. Quantitative autoradiography was employed to measure [(3)H]ketanserin binding to 5-HT(2A) receptors and [(3)H]pirenzepine binding to both M1 and M4 receptors in Brodmann's area 9 (BA9), caudate/putamen, and the hippocampal formation from six schizophrenic and six control subjects.

Selective reduction of chromogranin A-like immunoreactivities in the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenic subjects: a postmortem study.

It is suggested that secretogranins/chromogranins play a role in regulating secretion of various proteins and amines, including neurotransmitters from secretory granules. Several studies have implicated the importance of altered synaptic connectivity in schizophrenia. We employed immunohistochemical techniques to determine if the level of chromogranin A (CgA)-immunoreactivity (IR) was altered in the subjects with schizophrenia.