Search results for "Ventral"
showing 10 items of 180 documents
Preliminary experience with a transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery system integrated with a 1.5-T MRI unit in a series o…
2018
OBJECTIVETranscranial magnetic resonance–guided focused ultrasound surgery (tcMRgFUS) is one of the emerging noninvasive technologies for the treatment of neurological disorders such as essential tremor (ET), idiopathic asymmetrical tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease (PD), and neuropathic pain. In this clinical series the authors present the preliminary results achieved with the world’s first tcMRgFUS system integrated with a 1.5-T MRI unit.METHODSThe authors describe the results of tcMRgFUS in a sample of patients with ET and with PD who underwent the procedure during the period from January 2015 to September 2017. A monolateral ventralis intermedius nucleus (VIM) thalamic ablation was pe…
Preliminary results about a novel technique of mesh positioning in the abdominal wall hernia repair.
2018
INTRODUCTION: The surgical techniques described to approach the incisional hernia repair are various and there is not consensus about which of them to use. The Intra-Peritoneal Onlay Technique (IPOM) with classic mesh positioning is burdened by high post-operative complication rate. The study shows the preliminary results of a novel technique of open IPOM mesh positioning with "percutaneous" approach. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2010 to December 2016 patients with abdominal wall incisional hernia that underwent surgical operation via open mesh technique for abdominal wall hernia repair at the "Policlinico Paolo Giaccone" at Palermo University Hospital were identified and the data col…
Effect of recurrent yohimbine on immediate and post-hoc behaviors, stress hormones, and energy homeostatic parameters
2013
Evidence from experimental models has suggested that acute activation of brain stress and anxiety pathways impacts subsequent behaviors that are mediated or modulated by limbic circuitry. There have been limited investigations of prior or chronic activation of these pathways on subsequent limbic-mediated behaviors. In this study, we tested whether recurrent administration of the anxiogenic compound yohimbine (YOH) could have post-injection effects on brain activation, stress hormones, and performance in sucrose self-administration and startle response paradigms. Rats received six injections across two weeks of either 2mg/kg YOH or saline. Behavioral evaluation confirmed the continued effica…
Vomeronasal inputs to the rodent ventral striatum.
2008
Vertebrates sense chemical signals through the olfactory and vomeronasal systems. In squamate reptiles, which possess the largest vomeronasal system of all vertebrates, the accessory olfactory bulb projects to the nucleus sphericus, which in turn projects to a portion of the ventral striatum known as olfactostriatum. Characteristically, the olfactostriatum is innervated by neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase and serotonin immunoreactive fibers. In this study, the possibility that a structure similar to the reptilian olfactostriatum might be present in the mammalian brain has been investigated. Injections of dextran-amines have been aimed at the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus (th…
The antidepressant-like effect of tDCS in mice: A behavioral and neurobiological characterization
2017
Abtract Background Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive method increasingly popular for the treatment of several brain disorders, such as major depression. Despite great enthusiasm and promising results, some studies report discrepant findings and no consensus exists for the clinical use of tDCS. Objective The present study aims to (i) determine the most effective stimulation parameters to optimize antidepressant-like effect of tDCS in the forced-swim test in mice and (ii) identify brain regions recruited by tDCS and possibly involved in its behavioral effect using Fos immunohistochemistry. Results We reported that tDCS induced long-lasting antidepressant-like ef…
Selective dopaminergic lesions of the ventral tegmental area impair preference for sucrose but not for male sexual pheromones in female mice
2006
The role of the meso-accumbens dopaminergic pathway in reward-related behaviours is the subject of intense investigation. In this regard, here we analyse the effects of specific lesions of dopaminergic cells of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of female mice on two goal-directed behaviours, namely sucrose preference (intake of sucrose solution vs. water) and preference for male sexual pheromones (exploration of male-soiled vs. clean bedding). The results indicate that partial lesions of the VTA that impair neither locomotion nor general exploratory behaviour reduce the preference for sucrose (over a 48-h period) but do not alter the innate attraction that females display for male sexual phe…
The rewarding effects of ethanol are modulated by binge eating of a high-fat diet during adolescence
2017
Abstract Binge-eating is considered a specific form of overeating characterized by intermittent and high caloric food intake in a short period of time. Epidemiologic studies support a positive relation between the ingestion of fat and ethanol (EtOH), specifically among adolescent subjects. The aim of this work was to clarify the role of the compulsive, limited and intermittent intake of a high-fat food during adolescence on the rewarding effects of EtOH. After binge-eating for 2 h, three days a week from postnatal day (PND) 29, the reinforcing effects of EtOH were tested with EtOH self-administration (SA), conditioned place preference (CPP) and ethanol locomotor sensitization procedures in …
Impaired alcohol-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens in an inflammatory pain model: behavioral implications in male rats
2020
ABSTRACT Recent studies have drawn the attention to the link between alcohol use disorder and the presence of pain. Indeed, the correct management of pain in patients with a previous history of alcohol use disorder has been reported to decrease the risk of relapse in alcohol drinking, suggesting that in this prone population, pain may increase the vulnerability to relapse. Previous data in male rats revealed that inflammatory pain desensitizes mu-opioid receptors in the ventral tegmental area and increases intake of high doses of heroin. Owing to the relevant role of mu-opioid receptors in alcohol effects, we hypothesize that pain may also alter alcohol reinforcing properties and therefore …
Gene Transcription Alterations Associated with Decrease of Ethanol Intake Induced by Naltrexone in the Brain of Wistar Rats
2006
Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that the administration of the opioid antagonist naltrexone decreases the intake of ethanol. However, the neuroplastic adaptations in the brain associated to reduction of ethanol consumption remains to be elucidated. The aim of the study was to identify gene transcription alterations underlying the attenuation of voluntary ethanol intake by administration of naltrexone in rats. Increasing doses of naltrexone (0.7 mg/kg, 4 days and 1.4 mg/kg/day, 4 days) to rats with acquired high preferring ethanol consumption (>3.5 g of ethanol/kg/day) decreased voluntary ethanol intake (50%). Voluntary ethanol consumption altered mu-opioid receptor function in the …
Opposite effects of γ1- and γ2-melanocyte stimulating hormone on regulation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system in rats
2004
By use of the brain microdialysis technique we show that administration of gamma(1)-melanocyte stimulating hormone (gamma(1)-MSH) into the ventral tegmental area of anaesthetized rats causes an increase in the release of extracellular dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the nucleus accumbens, while gamma(2)-MSH causes the opposite effect. Moreover, gamma(2)-MSH pre-treatment considerably reduced the gamma(1)-MSH-induced effects. Our findings suggest an opposing action of two gamma-MSH-activated pathways on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which could be important in the maintenance of a balanced psychoactivation state.