Effect of inhibitors of inducible and neuronal NO synthases on the development of audiogenic stress-induced damage in Krushinskii-Molodkina rats.

Experiments on the models of epileptiform seizure and hemorrhagic stroke (Krushinskii-Molodkina rats) showed that selective inhibitors of inducible and neuronal NO synthases (aminoguanidine and 7-nitroindazole) significantly decrease the mortality rate, reduce the severity of motor disorders, and prevent the development of intracranial hemorrhages under conditions of audiogenic stress.

Modification of the effects of glutamate by nitric oxide (NO) in a pattern-generating network.

Previous studies have shown that nitric oxide (NO) transforms the responses of various neurons to glutamate, though it remained unclear whether this mechanism is involved in the formation of behavior. We therefore studied the buccal generator of the feeding rhythm of the mollusk Lymnaea stagnalis (pond snail). In this organism, glutamate and NO are synthesized by defined neurons; glutamate is the neurotransmitter for the second phase of the standard triphasic feeding rhythm.

Effects of an NO synthase inhibitor on aggressive and sexual behavior in male crickets.

The mechanisms of the effects of some types of behavior on others have received little study. The present investigation addresses the phenomenon present in male crickets of the species Gryllus bimaculatus, consisting of the powerful activation by transient flight (3 min) of aggression to another male and of the female courtship program. We found that flight did not evoke these behavioral changes in males injected with the NO synthase inhibitor LNNA.

Effect of polyoxidonium on the phagocytic activity of human peripheral blood leukocytes.

The effect of polyoxidonium on the functional activity of human peripheral blood phagocytes was studied in vitro. Polyoxidonium is an N-oxidized polyethylene-piperazine derivative, a water-soluble high-molecular synthetic immunomodulator. It was established that a one-hour incubation of leukocytes with polyoxidonium increases the ability of leukocytes to kill the ingested Staphylococcus aureus in a dose-dependent manner.

Neurotransmitter basis of mollusc behavior: control of choice between the orienting and the defense response to the presentation of an unfamiliar object.

The role of the serotoninergic and opioid systems in the choice between a passive defensive and an orienting response of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis to the presentation of an unfamiliar object was studied. Under the influence of 5-HTP, a metabolic precursor of serotonin, orienting and investigatory behavior was activated; the number of protective reactions decreased. Under the influence of naloxone, an antagonist of opiate receptors, the proportion of orienting responses decreased, and the number of passive defensive avoidance and freezing reactions increased.