Search results for "DOPAMINERGIC"
showing 10 items of 200 documents
Acetaldehyde effects in the brain
2015
The effects of alcohol have been widely studied during the past century as alcohol abuse is a major health problem in Western society. In the last years, a growing body of evidence indicates that acetaldehyde, the first oxidation product of ethanol, is one of the mediators of peripheral and central effects of ethanol. Indeed, acetaldehyde has been recently taken into account as the mediator of the rewarding properties of alcohol. The role of acetaldehyde in ethanol-related properties has been proved by enzymatic manipulation studies in which the inactivation of acetaldehyde potentially synthesized in the brain produces the same results as blocking the formation of acetaldehyde by inhibiting…
Fibroblast growth factor-21 enhances mitochondrial functions and increases the activity of PGC-1α in human dopaminergic neurons via Sirtuin-1
2014
Abstract Mitochondrial dysfunctions accompany several neurodegenerative disorders and contribute to disease pathogenesis among others in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a major regulator of mitochondrial functions and biogenesis, and was suggested as a therapeutic target in PD. PGC-1α is regulated by both transcriptional and posttranslational events involving also the action of growth factors. Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) is a regulator of glucose and fatty acid metabolism in the body but little is known about its action in the brain. We show here that FGF21 increased the levels and activity of PGC-1α and elevated mito…
Hybrid chaotic firefly decision making model for Parkinson’s disease diagnosis
2020
Parkinson’s disease is found as a progressive neurodegenerative condition which affects motor circuit by the loss of up to 70% of dopaminergic neurons. Thus, diagnosing the early stages of incidence is of great importance. In this article, a novel chaos-based stochastic model is proposed by combining the characteristics of chaotic firefly algorithm with Kernel-based Naïve Bayes (KNB) algorithm for diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease at an early stage. The efficiency of the model is tested on a voice measurement dataset that is collected from “UC Irvine Machine Learning Repository.” The dynamics of chaos optimization algorithm will enhance the firefly algorithm by introducing six types of chao…
Phenothiazines interfere with dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans models of Parkinson's disease
2010
Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders, conventional antioxidant strategies have yet been of limited success. We have employed transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans expressing DsRed2 in dopaminergic neurons and CFP pan-neuronally, to characterize in larval and adult animals the effects of rotenone and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP(+)) on the dopaminergic system. Investigating the antioxidant phenothiazine and different derived antipsychotic drugs, it was found that free phenothiazine exerted strong neuroprotection at the cellular level and resulted in a better performance in behavioral assays, whereas apomorphine and other dopamine agonists o…
Neuronal activity triggers uptake of hematopoietic extracellular vesicles in vivo
2019
Communication with the hematopoietic system is a vital component of regulating brain function in health and disease. Traditionally, the major routes considered for this neuroimmune communication are by individual molecules such as cytokines carried by blood, by neural transmission, or, in more severe pathologies, by the entry of peripheral immune cells into the brain. In addition, functional mRNA from peripheral blood can be directly transferred to neurons via extracellular vesicles (EVs), but the parameters that determine their uptake are unknown. Using varied animal models that stimulate neuronal activity by peripheral inflammation, optogenetics, and selective proteasome inhibition of dop…
Early impairment of epigenetic pattern in neurodegeneration: Additional mechanisms behind pyrethroid toxicity
2019
Abstract Permethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid extensively used as anti-woodworm agent and for indoor and outdoor pest control. The main route of human exposure is through fruit, vegetable and milk intake. Low dosage exposure to permethrin during neonatal brain development (from postnatal day 6 to postnatal day 21) leads to dopamine decrease in rat striatum nucleus, oxidative stress and behavioural changes linked to the development of Parkinson's like neurodegeneration later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in adolescent rats treated with permethrin during neonatal brain developmen…
Effects of DA-Phen, a dopamine-aminoacidic conjugate, on alcohol intake and forced abstinence
2016
The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system plays a key role in drug reinforcement and is involved in the development of alcohol addiction. Manipulation of the DAergic system represents a promising strategy to control drug-seeking behavior. Previous studies on 2-amino-N-[2-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-ethyl]-3-phenyl-propionamide (DA-Phen) showed in vivo effects as a DA-ergic modulator. This study was aimed at investigate DA-Phen effects on operant behavior for alcohol seeking behavior, during reinstatement following subsequent periods of alcohol deprivation. For this purpose, male Wistar rats were tested in an operant paradigm of self-administration; behavioral reactivity and anxiety like-behavior durin…
Dopamine restores limbic memory loss, dendritic spine structure, and NMDAR-dependent LTD in the nucleus accumbens of alcohol-withdrawn rats
2018
Alcohol abuse leads to aberrant forms of emotionally salient memory, i.e., limbic memory, that promote escalated alcohol consumption and relapse. Accordingly, activity-dependent structural abnormalities are likely to contribute to synaptic dysfunctions that occur from suddenly ceasing chronic alcohol consumption. Here we show that alcohol-dependent male rats fail to perform an emotional-learning task during abstinence but recover their functioning byl-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanin (l-DOPA) administration during early withdrawal.l-DOPA also reverses the selective loss of dendritic “long thin” spines observed in medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell of alcohol-dependent rats d…
MAOA-VNTR polymorphism modulates context-dependent dopamine release and aggressive behavior in males
2016
A recent [F-18]FDOPA-PET study reports negative correlations between dopamine synthesis rates and aggressive behavior. Since dopamine is among the substrates for monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), this investigation examines whether functional allelic variants of the MAOA tandem repeat (VNTR) promotor polymorphism, which is known to modulate aggressive behavior, influences dopamine release and aggression in response to violent visual stimuli. We selected from a genetic prescreening sample, strictly case-matched groups of 2 x 12 healthy male subjects with VNTRs predictive of high (MAOA-High) and low (MAOA-Low) MAOA expression. Subjects underwent pairs of PET sessions (dopamine D-2/3 ligand [F-18]DM…
Shell/core differences in mu- and delta-opioid receptor modulation of dopamine efflux in nucleus accumbens
2008
The mu- and delta-opioid receptors located at the terminal level in nucleus accumbens are involved in the opiate modulation of dopamine release in this brain area. However, recent studies suggest that the effects of opioid drugs on the core subregion of nucleus accumbens may completely differ from those observed in the shell. We used in vivo microdialysis to simultaneously apply selective mu- and delta-opioid receptor agonists and to measure extracellular levels of dopamine in three subregions of the accumbens, namely shell, core, and the transition zone between them. The regional analysis of these subregions of the accumbens demonstrated that basal levels of dopamine and its metabolites we…