22 results match your criteria: "Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior - IneC[Affiliation]"

Dopamine D2-like receptors on conditioned and unconditioned fear: A systematic review of rodent pharmacological studies.

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry

August 2024

Department of Psychology, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Electronic address:

Growing evidence supports dopamine's role in aversive states, yet systematic reviews focusing on dopamine receptors in defensive behaviors are lacking. This study presents a systematic review of the literature examining the influence of drugs acting on dopamine D2-like receptors on unconditioned and conditioned fear in rodents. The review reveals a predominant use of adult male rats in the studies, with limited inclusion of female rodents.

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Brain activation during fear extinction recall in unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging

December 2023

Department of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Dr Ovídio Pires de Campos, 785, 05403-010, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Department of Methods and Techniques in Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University, Rua Monte Alegre, 984, 05014-901, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Specific brain activation patterns during fear conditioning and the recall of previously extinguished fear responses have been associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, further replication studies are necessary. We measured skin-conductance response and blood oxygenation level-dependent responses in unmedicated adult patients with OCD (n = 27) and healthy participants (n = 22) submitted to a two-day fear-conditioning experiment comprising fear conditioning, extinction (day 1) and extinction recall (day 2).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the impact of low doses of fluoxetine on emotional premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms by evaluating its effect on allopregnanolone (ALLO) levels during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
  • - In a pilot study with 40 women experiencing emotional PMS, results showed that fluoxetine doses of 5 mg/d and 10 mg/d significantly reduced PMS symptom severity compared to a control phase without medication.
  • - The 10 mg/d dose demonstrated the most substantial reduction in symptoms, with 70% of participants reporting at least a 40% decrease in severity, suggesting fluoxetine may provide a promising treatment option for emotional PMS.
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Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex impairment by 5-HT2A receptor activation in the inferior colliculus is prevented by GABAA receptor blockade in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus.

Behav Brain Res

June 2023

Laboratory of Psychobiology of Schizophrenia, Departmentof Biosciences, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Silva Jardim Street 136, Santos, 11015-020 São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Av. do Café, 2450, Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, 14050-220 São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

The relationship between serotonin dysfunction and schizophrenia commenced with the discovery of the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) that has high affinity for 5-HT receptors. Activation of these receptors produces perceptual and behavioural changes such as illusions, visual hallucinations and locomotor hyperactivity. Using prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle, which is impaired in schizophrenia,we aimed to investigate:i) the existence of a direct and potentially inhibitory neural pathway between the inferior colliculus (IC) and the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) involved in the mediation of PPI responses by a neural tract tracing procedure;ii) if the microinjection of the 5-HT receptors agonist DOI in IC would activate neurons in this structure and in the PPTg by a c-Fos protein immunohistochemistry study;iii) whether the deficits in PPI responses, observed after the administration of DOI in the IC, could be prevented by the concomitant microinjection of the GABA receptor antagonist bicuculline in the PPTg.

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Dopamine has been increasingly recognized as a key neurotransmitter regulating fear/anxiety states. Nevertheless, the influence of sex and estrous cycle differences on the role of dopamine in fear responses needs further investigation. We aimed to evaluate the effects of sulpiride (a dopaminergic D2-like receptor antagonist) on contextual fear conditioning in females while exploring the influence of the estrous cycle.

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Meta-Chlorophenylpiperazine-Induced Behavioral Changes in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research: A Systematic Review of Rodent Studies.

Neuroscience

December 2022

Department of Psychology, Center of Education and Human Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:

Meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) was one of the first compounds used in clinical and preclinical studies that demonstrated the role of serotonin in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This systematic review aimed to (a) identify publications that report in rodents the effects of mCPP relevant to OCD, (b) explore the methodological characteristics of these studies, and (c) summarize the profile of mCPP effects. A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.

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In animal models, the administration of the dopaminergic D2 antagonist haloperidol affects the nigrostriatal pathway, inducing catalepsy, a state of immobility similar to Parkinson's disease (PD) bradykinesia and akinesia. In PD, the motor impairments are due to difficulties in selecting and executing motor actions, associated with dopamine loss in basal ganglia and cortical targets. Motor and affective limbic networks seem to be integrated a striato-nigro-striatal network, therefore, it is not surprising that the motor impairments in PD can be influenced by the patient's emotional state.

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The activation of D2-like receptors by intranasal dopamine facilitates the extinction of contextual fear and prevents conditioned fear-induced antinociception.

Behav Brain Res

January 2022

Laboratory of Neuroanatomy & Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Electronic address:

Fear extinction (FExt) is used to treat patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, fear related to traumatic events can be persistent and return even after successful extinction. The neurochemical control of extinction seems to be performed by several neurotransmitters, including dopamine (DA), through D1 and D2 receptors.

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Dopamine seems to mediate fear conditioning through its action on D2 receptors in the mesolimbic pathway. Systemic and local injections of dopaminergic agents showed that D2 receptors are preferentially involved in the expression, rather than in the acquisition, of conditioned fear. To further examine this issue, we evaluated the effects of systemic administration of the dopamine D2-like receptor antagonists sulpiride and haloperidol on the expression and extinction of contextual and cued conditioned fear in rats.

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Several useful animal models for parkinsonism have been developed so far. Haloperidol-induced catalepsy is often used as a rodent model for the study of motor impairments observed in Parkinson's disease and related disorders and for the screening of potential antiparkinsonian compounds. The objective of this systematic review is to identify publications that used the haloperidol-induced catalepsy model for parkinsonism and to explore the methodological characteristics and the main questions addressed in these studies.

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Avoidance behavior is a hallmark in pathological anxiety disorders and results in impairment of daily activities. Individual differences in avoidance responses are critical in determining vulnerability or resistance to anxiety disorders. Dopaminergic activation is implicated in the processing of avoidance responses; however, the mechanisms underlying these responses are unknown.

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Playback of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations overcomes psychomotor deficits induced by sub-chronic haloperidol treatment in rats.

Psychopharmacology (Berl)

July 2020

Experimental and Biological Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.

Article Synopsis
  • In rodents, haloperidol treatment causes psychomotor impairments resembling Parkinsonism, with acute treatment leading to catalepsy and sub-chronic treatment reducing exploratory behavior.
  • Researchers explored whether playback of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USV), an appetitive sound, could help alleviate these motor deficits induced by haloperidol in rats.
  • The study found that sub-chronic haloperidol led to reduced activity, but the playback of 50-kHz USV significantly improved exploratory behaviors and social responses in treated rats, indicating a potential for symptom relief.
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Catalepsy - an immobile state in which individuals fail to change imposed postures - can be induced by haloperidol. In rats, the pattern of haloperidol-induced catalepsy is very similar to that observed in Parkinson's disease (PD). As some PD symptoms seem to depend on the patient's emotional state, and as anxiety disorders are common in PD, it is possible that the central mechanisms regulating emotional and cataleptic states interplay.

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neuropsychiatric condition that affects men and women equally, but with a sexually dimorphic pattern of development. Reproductive cycle events can influence symptom severity of OCD in females, indicating that ovarian hormones or their interaction with distinct neurotransmitter systems may play a role in OCD pathophysiology. Clinical studies and animal models have confirmed the importance of the serotonergic (5-HT) system in the neurobiology and treatment of OCD.

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The effects of the 5-HT receptor blocker pindolol and the 5-HT releasing and uptake blocking agent d-fenfluramine, both used as indirect serotonin agonists, on flumazenil-induced acute anxiety reactions were studied in panic disorder patients to test the hypothesis that serotonin (5-HT) inhibits neural systems mediating panic attacks. Thirty never treated or drug free PD patients (16 females) aged 22-49 y (mean ± SD, 32.9 ± 8) received single doses of d-fenfluramine (n = 10; 30 mg, p.

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Translational approach to the pathophysiology of panic disorder: Focus on serotonin and endogenous opioids.

Neurosci Biobehav Rev

May 2017

Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior - INeC, Avenida do Café, 2450, 14050-220 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil; Neurobiology of Emotion Research Centre (NAP-NuPNE), University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Electronic address:

Panic patients experience recurrent panic attacks. Two main neurochemical hypotheses have been proposed to explain this vulnerability. The first suggests that panic patients have deficient serotonergic inhibition of neurons localized in the dorsal periaqueductal gray matter of the midbrain that organizes defensive reactions to cope with proximal threats as well as of sympathomotor control areas of the rostral ventrolateral medulla that generate neurovegetative symptoms of the panic attack.

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Neural Correlates of the Antinociceptive Effects of Stimulating the Anterior Pretectal Nucleus in Rats.

J Pain

November 2016

Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior-INeC, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address:

Unlabelled: Stimulation-evoked antinociception (SEA) from the anterior pretectal nucleus (APtN) activates mechanisms that descend to the spinal cord through the dorsolateral funiculus, but the encephalic route followed by the descending pathways from the APtN is not completely known. This study evaluated the changes in the SEA from the APtN in the Wistar rat tail-flick test after lidocaine-induced neural block or N-methyl-d-aspartate-induced neurotoxic lesion of the deep mesencephalic nucleus (DpMe), tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus (PPTg), or lateral paragigantocellular nucleus (LPGi). The SEA from the APtN was less intense after neural block of the contralateral DpMe or PPTg or the ipsilateral LPGi, but was not changed by the neural block of the ipsilateral DpMe or PPTg or the contralateral LPGi.

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Opiorphin causes a panicolytic-like effect in rat panic models mediated by μ-opioid receptors in the dorsal periaqueductal gray.

Neuropharmacology

February 2016

Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, State University of Maringá, Maringá, Brazil; Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; Neurobiology of Emotion Research Centre (NAP-NuPNE), University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Electronic address:

Reported evidence indicates that endogenous opioid peptides regulate the expression of escape behavior in rats, a panic-related defensive response, through μ-opioid receptors (MORs) in the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG). These peptides are rapidly catabolized by degrading enzymes, including neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and aminopeptidase N (APN). Opiorphin is a peptide inhibitor of both NEP and APN and potentiates the action of endogenous enkephalins.

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The dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG) has long been implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety, particularly in panic disorder (PD). Evidence obtained with animal models indicates that different neurotransmitters/neuromodulators in this midbrain area are involved in the regulation of anxiety- (e.g.

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The elevated T-maze (ETM) was developed to test the hypothesis that serotonin (5-HT) plays an opposing role in the regulation of defensive behaviors associated with anxiety and panic. This test allows the measurement in the same rat of inhibitory avoidance acquisition, related to generalized anxiety disorder, and of one-way escape, associated with panic disorder. The evidence so far reported with the ETM supports the above hypothesis and indicates that: (1) whereas 5-HT neurons located at the dorsal raphe nucleus are involved in the regulation of both inhibitory avoidance and escape, those of the median raphe nucleus are primarily implicated in the former task; (2) facilitation of 5-HT1A- and 5-HT2A-mediated neurotransmission in the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG) is likely to mediate the panicolytic drug action; (3) stimulation of 5-HT2C receptors in the basolateral amygdala increases anxiety and is implicated in the anxiogenesis caused by short-term administration of antidepressant drugs, and (4) 5-HT1A and the μ-opioid receptors work together in the dPAG to modulate escape or panic attacks.

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Intraoperative dopamine release during globus pallidus internus stimulation in Parkinson's disease.

Mov Disord

December 2013

Laboratory of Neuromodulation and Experimental Pain, Hospital Sirio-Libanes, São Paulo, Brazil; University of São Paulo and Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior (INeC), Campus USP, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil; Department of Neurology, Division of Functional Neurosurgery; Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Surgery, Discipline of Surgical Technique, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, LIM 26 HC-FMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: It is still unclear whether dopamine (DA) levels correlate with Parkinson's disease (PD) severity or play a role in the mechanisms of high-frequency stimulation (HFS).

Methods: We have used microdialysis to record pallidal DA in 5 patients with PD undergoing microelectrode-guided pallidotomy.

Results: We found that patients with more severe disease and, consequently, lower pallidal DA did poorly after pallidal lesions.

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Chronic administration of antidepressants such as fluoxetine and imipramine increases the responsiveness of 5-HT(1A) receptors in dorsal periaqueductal grey matter (DPAG), a midbrain area consistently implicated in the pathogenesis of panic disorder. This effect has been related to the clinically relevant anti-panic action of these drugs. In this study we determined whether long-term administration of fluoxetine also affects 5-HT efflux in DPAG.

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