Search results for "Cerebral Cortex"
showing 10 items of 529 documents
Distinct influence of atypical 1,4-dihydropyridine compounds in azidothymidine-induced neuro- and cardiotoxicity in mice ex vivo.
2008
This study demonstrates the effective protection by compounds of atypical 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP) series cerebrocrast, glutapyrone and tauropyrone against neuro- and cardiotoxicity caused by the model compound azidothymidine, a well-known mitochondria-compromising anti-HIV drug. In previous in vitro experiments, we have demonstrated distinct effects of these DHP compounds to influence mitochondrial functioning. In the present in vivo experiments, DHP compounds were administered intraperitoneally in mice daily for 2 weeks, per se and in combinations with azidothymidine at doses: azidothymidine 50 mg/kg; cerebrocrast 0.1 mg/kg; glutapyrone 1 mg/kg; and tauropyrone 1 mg/kg. At the end of the…
Cue valence representation studied by Fos immunocytochemistry after acquisition of a discrimination learning task.
2003
The piriform cortex (PCx) and related structures such as hippocampus and frontal cortex could play an important role in olfactory memory. We investigated their involvement in learning the biological value of an odor cue, i.e. predicting reward or non-reward in a two-odor discrimination task. Rats were sacrificed after stimulation by either rewarded or non-rewarded odor and Fos immunocytochemistry was performed. The different experimental groups of rats did not show strongly differentiated Fos expression pattern in either the PCx or the hippocampus. A few differences were noted in frontal areas. In the ventro-lateral orbital cortex, rats, ramdomly rewarded during the conditionning had a high…
Erythropoietin neuroprotection is enhanced by direct cortical application following subdural blood evacuation in a rat model of acute subdural hemato…
2013
Recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) has been successfully tested as neuroprotectant in brain injury models. The first large clinical trial with stroke patients, however, revealed negative results. Reasons are manifold and may include side-effects such as thrombotic complications or interactions with other medication, EPO concentration, penetration of the blood-brain-barrier and/or route of application. The latter is restricted to systemic application. Here we hypothesize that EPO is neuroprotective in a rat model of acute subdural hemorrhage (ASDH) and that direct cortical application is a feasible route of application in this injury type. The subdural hematoma was surgically evacuated a…
Prenatal exposure to the CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 causes learning disruption associated with impaired cortical NMDA receptor function and em…
2005
The aim of this study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 (WIN) at a daily dose devoid of overt signs of toxicity and/or gross malformations (0.5 mg/kg, gestation days 5-20), influences cortical glutamatergic neurotransmission, learning and emotional reactivity in rat offspring. Basal and K+-evoked extracellular glutamate levels were significantly lower in cortical cell cultures obtained from pups exposed to WIN during gestation with respect to those measured in cultures obtained from neonates born from vehicle-treated dams. The addition of NMDA to cortical cell cultures from neonates born from vehicle-treated dams concentration-…
Putative role of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in the changes of nitric oxide concentration in rat brain cortex and cerebellum following sevoflurane…
2005
We have previously observed an increase in nitric oxide (NO) content in rat brain cortex following halothane, sevoflurane or isoflurane anaesthesia. This study was undertaken in order to determine whether isoform-specific nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors and inducers could modify these increases in NO contents. Rats were subjected to isoflurane and sevoflurane anaesthesia with concomitant administration of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor 7-Nitro-indazole (7-NI), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor 2-amino-5,6-dihydro-6-methyl-4H-1,3-thiazine (AMT) or lipopolysaccharide. NO concentration in different organs was measured by electron paramagnetic resonance (E…
Gastric α-synuclein immunoreactive inclusions in Meissner's and Auerbach's plexuses in cases staged for Parkinson's disease-related brain pathology
2005
The progressive degenerative process associated with sporadic Parkinson's disease (sPD) is characterized by formation of alpha-synuclein-containing inclusion bodies in a few types of projection neurons in both the enteric and central nervous systems (ENS and CNS). In the brain, the process apparently begins in the brainstem (dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve) and advances through susceptible regions of the basal mid-and forebrain until it reaches the cerebral cortex. Anatomically, all of the vulnerable brain regions are closely interconnected. Whether the pathological process begins in the brain or elsewhere in the nervous system, however, is still unknown. We therefore used immunocyt…
Pregnenolone sulphate enhances spatial orientation and object discrimination in adult male rats: Evidence from a behavioural and electrophysiological…
2013
Abstract Neurosteroids can alter neuronal excitability interacting with specific neurotransmitter receptors, thus affecting several functions such as cognition and emotionality. In this study we investigated, in adult male rats, the effects of the acute administration of pregnenolone-sulfate (PREGS) (10 mg/kg, s.c.) on cognitive processes using the Can test, a non aversive spatial/visual task which allows the assessment of both spatial orientation–acquisition and object discrimination in a simple and in a complex version of the visual task. Electrophysiological recordings were also performed in vivo , after acute PREGS systemic administration in order to investigate on the neuronal activati…
The Polysialylated Form of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (PSA-NCAM) Is Expressed in a Subpopulation of Mature Cortical Interneurons Characterized…
2010
Principal neurons in the adult cerebral cortex undergo synaptic, dendritic, and spine remodeling in response to different stimuli, and several reports have demonstrated that the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) participates in these plastic processes. However, there is only limited information on the expression of this molecule on interneurons and on its role in the structural plasticity of these cells. We have found that PSA-NCAM is expressed in mature interneurons widely distributed in all the extension of the cerebral cortex and have excluded the expression of this molecule in most principal cells. Although PSA-NCAM expression is generally considered a …
Transcription factor gene expression profiling after acute intermittent nicotine treatment in the rat cerebral cortex
2004
Several studies in different in vitro and in vivo models have demonstrated neuroprotective effects of nicotinic receptor agonists and indirect trophic actions of nicotine on brain are suggested from observations describing nicotine as a cognitive enhancer by increasing vigilance and improving learning and memory. While an increasing number of studies have given evidence of neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects of nicotine treatment, the molecular mechanism mediating the neurotrophic effects of nicotine are not fully understood. Previously in an analysis of several neurotrophic factors as possible mediators of nicotine-induced neuroprotection and/or neurotrophic effects we could reveal th…
Regulation of α4β2α5 nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptors in rat cerebral cortex in early and late adolescence: Sex differences in response to chron…
2013
Chronic nicotine administration in animals, and smoking in humans, causes up-regulation of α4β2* neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs), which has been hypothesized to contribute to the addictive actions of nicotine. We used a rat model to test whether such up-regulatory effects differ in adolescents versus adults, and in males versus females. Following chronic treatment with nicotine or saline via subcutaneous osmotic minipumps, we measured α4β2 and α4β2α5 nAChRs in cerebral cortex using [3H]epibatidine to label assembled nAChRs, and selective antibodies to measure the individual subunits via immunoprecipitation. For the first time, we provide a detailed characterization of the response of …