Effect of aceclidine on scopolamine- and electroshock-induced amnesia in rats

It is found that the cholinomimetic aceclidine stimulates learning and memory processes and exerts antiamnestic effect in rats with conditioned avoidance reaction. The effect of aceclidine is not inferior to that of amiridin and surpasses that of physostigmine. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 123, No. 3, pp. 296–298, March, 1997     

瘦素受体在条件性厌味大鼠脑的表达

目的 :观察瘦素受体 (LR)在条件性厌味 (CTA)大鼠脑的表达 .方法 :采用高度特异的抗瘦素受体血清 ,用免疫组化ABC法观察LR在CTA和对照大鼠脑的分布与表达 .结果 :与对照组大鼠相比 ,CTA大鼠皮层Ⅲ层、视交叉上核、弓状核、杏仁基底外侧核、海马CA3、下丘脑外侧区等核团瘦素受体表达增加 (14 6vs 12 0 ,138vs 92 ,118vs 78,10 7vs70 ,85vs 38cells·mm-2 ,P <0 .0 5 ) ,而下丘脑前区、脑桥臂旁核、杏仁中央核瘦素受体表达减弱 (13vs2 6 ,70vs5 5 ,12 2vs 16 2cells·mm-2 ,P <0 .0 5 ) ,孤束核瘦素受体的表达与对照大鼠无显著性差异 (5 0vs 5 7cells·mm-2 ,P >0 .0 5 ) .结论 :瘦素可能通过杏仁核、臂旁核、海马、皮层的瘦素受体参与CTA的形成与维持     

An analysis of the paradoxical effect of morphine on runway speed and food consumption

A previously reported paradigm in which rats run down a runway for food reward followed by morphine injection was analyzed to assess the utility of the paradigm in studies of opiate reinforcement. One experiment replicated the original report that post-trial morphine caused both an increase in runway speed and a decrease in food consumption (taste aversion) over successive trials, and showed in addition that the increase in runway speed did not occur as a result of food deprivation alone, but required the animals to have consumed food in the goal box. A second study using the quaternary opiate antagonist methyl naltrexone to block the peripheral effects of morphine suggested that the increase in runway speed has a peripheral locus while the taste aversion has a central one. A third experiment in which morphine was microinjected into either the lateral ventricle or the ventral tegmental area supported these observations, in that intracranial morphine failed to result in an increased runway speed, but did produce taste aversion after microinjection into either site. These findings also suggest that the increase in runway speed caused by post-trial morphine in this experiment has a peripheral locus of effect, which is probably distinct from the central effect that supports morphine self-administration and conditioned place preference. Offprint requests to: W.A.CorrigallThe views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Addiction Research Foundation     

Flavor preference conditioning by oral self-administration of ethanol

 Oral self-administration and operant tasks have been used successfully to confirm ethanol′s positive reinforcing effects in rats. However, in flavor conditioning tasks, ethanol is typically found to have aversive effects. The present studies explored this apparent paradox by examining the change in value of a flavor paired with orally self-administered ethanol in two different limited-access procedures. Rats were food-deprived and trained to drink (experiment 1) or to barpress for (experiment 2) 10% (v/v) ethanol during daily 30-min sessions using prandial initiation techniques. All rats were then exposed to a differential flavor conditioning procedure in which banana or almond extract was added to the drinking solution. One flavor (counterbalanced) was always mixed with ethanol (CS+), whereas the other flavor was mixed with water (CS–). By the end of conditioning, rats in both experiments drank more flavored ethanol than flavored water, confirming ethanol’s efficacy as a reinforcer. Moreover, barpress rates for CS+ exceeded those for CS– in the operant task. Ethanol doses self-administered in final sessions averaged about 1 g/kg. The effect of the flavor-ethanol contingency was assessed in preference tests that offered a choice between the two flavor solutions without ethanol. In both experiments, subjects developed a preference for the flavor that had been paired with ethanol. Thus, the outcome of flavor conditioning was consistent with that of the oral self-administration tasks in providing evidence of ethanol’s rewarding effects. These experiments confirm and extend previous studies showing that flavor aversion is not the inevitable result of flavor-ethanol association in rats. It seems likely that ethanol’s nutrient and pharmacological effects both contributed to the development of conditioned flavor preference. Received: 15 February 1997 / Final version: 11 June 1997     

Behavioral conditioning of endotoxin-induced plasma iron alterations

The cascade of physiologic mechanisms in response to infection, the acute-phase response, is recognized as playing a major role in host defence. One such response is the hypoferremia that is consistently reported to occur during bacterial infection. This study aimed to determine whether the alterations in plasma iron were conditionable using the conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm. The regime involved the pairing of a novel-tasting saccharin solution with bacterial endotoxin. Seven days after the initial pairing of these stimuli (the test day), the saccharin solution was represented. Animals exposed to this condition displayed a significant reduction in the level of plasma iron. Animals treated with an intraperitoneal dose of 400 μg/Kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) displayed lower conditioned iron levels than rats infused with 100 μg/Kg LPS; however, this difference was not significant. These results showed that in addition to other acute-phase responses (fever and anorexia), plasma iron alterations are able to be manipulated through behavioral manipulations.     

In vivo microdialysis and conditioned place preference studies in rats are consistent with abuse potential of tramadol.

The abuse potential of tramadol was investigated using both in vivo microdialysis measures of dopamine (DA) release within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in rats. Tramadol (75 mg/kg, i.p.) induced a statistically significant increase (starting 80 min posttreatment) in DA release within the NAc shell, which was maintained for at least 120 min posttreatment. Tramadol (18.75, 37.5, and 75 mg/kg i.p.) produced a statistically significant CPP, with the effects of the two highest doses comparable to those induced by morphine (5 mg/kg, s.c.). The release of DA within the NAc shell may be responsible for the rewarding properties of tramadol and, together with the CPP results, provide evidence that tramadol may possess greater abuse potential than originally believed.     

Ascending general visceral pathways within the brainstems of two teleost fishes: Ictalurus punctatus and Carassius auratus.

The primary general visceral nucleus in goldfish (Carassius auratus) and catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is located at the ventroposterior boundary of the vagal gustatory lobe and receives coelomic visceral, but not gustatory inputs. The neuronal tracer horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was employed to visualize sources of input to and ascending projections from the primary general visceral nucleus in these species. In addition, immunocytochemical techniques were utilized to define the cytological divisions within the pontine gustatory-visceral complex. The pontine secondary visceral nuclei in both catfish and goldfish contains numerous somata and fibers immunoreactive for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). In contrast, the secondary gustatory nuclei are devoid of fibers and cells immunoreactive for CGRP. In both the goldfish and the channel catfish, the primary general visceral nucleus receives input from the vagal gustatory lobe, as well as the medullary reticular formation. In the channel catfish, the primary general visceral nucleus projects bilaterally to the secondary visceral nucleus, which lies rostrolateral to the secondary gustatory nucleus in the dorsal pons. Fibers cross the midline via the rostral part of the isthmic commissure. Injection of HRP into the primary general visceral nucleus of a goldfish labels ascending fibers that project to a secondary visceral nucleus situated ventral, lateral, and rostral to the secondary gustatory complex. In general, the results indicate that general visceral systems ascend in parallel to gustatory systems within the brainstem, and that general visceral but not gustatory nuclei are immunoreactive for the peptide CGRP.     

鼠骨髓间充质干细胞对神经元凋亡的影响

目的探讨体外培养鼠骨髓间充质干细胞对谷氨酸诱导大脑皮质神经元凋亡的影响。方法分离、培养、传代Wistar大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞，细胞融合达90％时更换培养基，继续培养24h，收集细胞培养液即为骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基；培养新生Wistar大鼠大脑皮质神经元，第8d随机分为对照组、谷氨酸损伤组和骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基处理组。采用台盼蓝染色计算神经元存活率，同时用流式细胞仪和透射电镜技术检测各组神经元凋亡情况。结果谷氨酸（0．8mmol／L）可诱导细胞凋亡，骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基处理组较谷氨酸损伤组细胞成活率明显升高（P〈0．001）；流式细胞仪检测见骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基处理组细胞凋亡率明显降低（P〈0．001）；而电镜检测发现对照组无明显的凋亡细胞，谷氦酸组有典型凋亡神经元，骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基处理组凋亡细胞数明显减少。结论骨髓间充质干细胞条件培养基对谷氨酸神经元毒性具有拮抗作用。     

人毛乳头细胞条件培养液治疗斑秃的临床观察

目的：人毛乳头细胞条件培养液治疗斑秃患者的临床观察。方法：用人毛乳头细胞条件培养液治疗100例斑秃患者，并分别选择其中53例和30例作去炎松组和空白组自身对照。结果：人毛乳头细胞条件培养液组、去炎松组和空白组治愈率分别为75％、51％、10％，有效率分别为97％、72％、30％，人毛乳头细胞条件培养液组其治愈率和有效率均明显高于去炎松组和空白组（P〈0．05）。结论：人毛乳头细胞条件培养液对斑秃患者有明显的治疗作用。     

Causal models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: from common simple deficits to multiple developmental pathways.

Until recently, causal models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have tended to focus on the role of common, simple, core deficits. One such model highlights the role of executive dysfunction due to deficient inhibitory control resulting from disturbances in the frontodorsal striatal circuit and associated mesocortical dopaminergic branches. An alternative model presents ADHD as resulting from impaired signaling of delayed rewards arising from disturbances in motivational processes, involving frontoventral striatal reward circuits and mesolimbic branches terminating in the ventral striatum, particularly the nucleus accumbens. In the present article, these models are elaborated in two ways. First, they are each placed within their developmental context by consideration of the role of person x environment correlation and interaction and individual adaptation to developmental constraint. Second, their relationship to one another is reviewed in the light of recent data suggesting that delay aversion and executive functions might each make distinctive contributions to the development of the disorder. This provides an impetus for theoretical models built around the idea of multiple neurodevelopmental pathways. The possibility of neuropathologic heterogeneity in ADHD is likely to have important implications for the clinical management of the condition, potentially impacting on both diagnostic strategies and treatment options.