Brain research
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Comparative Study
Comparison of the antinociceptive effect of acute morphine in female and male Sprague-Dawley rats using the long-lasting mu-antagonist methocinnamox.
Male rats are more sensitive than female rats to the antinociceptive action of morphine. The present study used age-matched (9-10 weeks old) male and female Sprague-Dawley rats to investigate whether this difference is due to variation in micro-opioid receptor binding and G protein activation. In the warm-water tail-withdrawal assay at both 50 degrees C and 55 degrees C, morphine was 2-3 times more potent in males than females. ⋯ Pretreatment of male rats with 0.32 mg/kg methocinnamox reduced the antinociceptive potency of morphine to that observed in female rats expressing a full complement of micro-opioid receptors. However, with increasing pretreatment doses of methocinnamox, the maximal antinociceptive effect of morphine was decreased in females but not males. The results suggest that pathways downstream of the micro-opioid receptor and G protein are more efficient in male rats than in female rats such that there is a larger receptor reserve for morphine-mediated antinociception.
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Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is associated with delayed cerebral damage, which involves receptor-mediated excitotoxicity. Until now, successful interventions to reduce excitotoxicity early after HI in experimental settings failed to transform into clinical applications owing to negative side effects. A promising new approach using the anticonvulsant Topiramate (TPM) has shown to be effective to reduce brain damage after early HI in a rodent model of combined TPM-hypothermia. Here, we used TPM solely administered 1 h after HI in a neonatal piglet model in order to verify possible neuroprotection. ⋯ Exclusive TPM treatment shows neuroprotection in newborn piglets after HI.
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Comparative Study
Influence of long-term food restriction on sleep pattern in male rats.
The present purpose was to determine the effects of different schedules of long-term food restriction (FR) applied to rats from weaning to the 8th week. Rats were distributed into FR and ad libitum groups at weaning and fed at 7 am, at 7 pm, and finally, restricted rats fed ad libitum. The restricted rats started with 6 g/day and the food was increased by 1 g per week until reaching 15 g/day by adulthood. ⋯ After being FR, the rats were fed ad libitum and their sleep was monitored for 3 additional days. During the first dark recording, the decrease in awake time and increase in SWS were still present; however, as ad libitum food continued, these sleep parameters returned to control values, reestablishing the normal sleep pattern. These results suggest that dietary restriction, regardless to the feeding schedule, caused increase in total sleep time, during the active period.
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Comparative Study
Electrical stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex inhibits spinal dorsal horn neuron activity.
Cortical stimulation has been demonstrated to alleviate certain pain conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the responses of the spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex (SSC). We hypothesized that direct stimulation of the SSC will inhibit the activity of spinal dorsal horn neurons by activating the descending inhibitory system. ⋯ The responses to pinch at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 58.1 +/- 7.0, 42.9 +/- 5.5, 34.8 +/- 3.9, 34.6 +/- 4.4, and 52.6 +/- 6.0 spikes/s, respectively. Significant decreases of the dorsal horn neuronal responses to pressure and pinch were observed during SSC stimulation. It is concluded that electrical stimulation of the SSC produces transient inhibition of the responses of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to higher intensity mechanical stimuli without affecting innocuous stimuli.
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Comparative Study
Involvement of caspase cascade in capsaicin-induced apoptosis of dorsal root ganglion neurons.
Capsaicin induces apoptosis in some types of neurons, but the exact molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, capsaicin was systemically administrated in newborn rats and the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were examined for caspase-immunoreactivity. Capsaicin-induced neuronal apoptosis was revealed by TUNEL. ⋯ The immunoreactivity and TUNEL-positivity returned to the vehicle control level by 120 h. Double label immunohistochemistry revealed co-expression of caspase-9 and DNA fragmentation or caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation. These results suggest that the caspase cascade is involved in the primary neuronal apoptosis induced by neurotoxin capsaicin.