--Key assumptions and components of biophysical models of hummingbird licking that are central to current interpretations of plant-pollinator coevolution have not previously been verified. To test the realism of the models, I measured fine-scale parameters of a Rufous Hummingbird's (Selasphorus rufus) licking, including licking frequency and volume extracted per lick, with a photodetector array...

Abstract: Stimulus-to-action sequences are believed to involve the release of dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA). However, the electrochemical similarity of these two monoamines has limited real-time measurements of their release. As such, the temporal dynamics of DA and NA release in the cortex during learning and behavior remain poorly understood. To meet the challenge of assessing DA and N...

Numerous behavioral paradigms have been developed to assess tinnitus-like behavior in animals. Nevertheless, they are often limited by prolonged training requirements, as well as an inability to simultaneously assess onset and lasting tinnitus behavior, tinnitus pitch or duration, or tinnitus presence without grouping data from multiple animals or testing sessions. To enhance behavioral testing...

Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic activities of n-hexane aqueous ethanolic extracts Malva neglecta in Swiss albino mice was evaluated. For each activity, the were divided into 4 groups: Group 1 served as control, Groups 2 3 given ethanol extracts, respectively whereas treated with standard drug. Analgesic activity evaluated against acetic acid induced writhing, Eddy's hot plate meth...

Topical capsaicin is believed to alleviate pain by desensitizing the vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1) at the peripheral nerve endings. Here, we report that an up-regulation of VR1 expression on myelinated fibers contributes to the antihyperalgesic effect of capsaicin cream in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic neuropathic pain. Intravenous injection of STZ (200 mg/kg) in mice caused rapid onset of...

Several recent studies have shown that post-oral sugar sensing rapidly stimulates ingestion. Here, we explored the specificity with which early-phase post-oral sugar sensing influenced ingestive motivation. In experiment 1, rats were trained to associate the consumption of 0.3 M sucrose with injections of LiCl (3.0 meq/kg ip, conditioned taste aversion) or given equivalent exposures to the stim...

objectives: the study was carried out to assess the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and cns depressant activity of the methanolic extract of  the lawsonia inermis barks(melib). materials and methods: anti-inflammatory effects of mebli were studied using carrageenan-induced inflammatory method at the dose of 300 and 500 mg/kg b.wt., p.o. analgesic activity was measured using acetic acid-induced wr...

Purkinje cells (PCs) are a major site of information integration and plasticity in the cerebellum, a brain region involved in motor task refinement. Thus PCs provide an ideal location for studying the mechanisms necessary for cerebellum-dependent motor learning. Increasingly, sophisticated behavior tasks, used in combination with genetic reporters and effectors of activity, have opened up the p...

Although widely assumed to have only satiating actions, nutrients in the gut can also condition increases in intake in some cases. Here we studied the time course of post-oral nutrient stimulation of ingestion in food-restricted C57BL/6J mice. In experiment 1, mice adapted to drink a 0.8% sucralose solution 1 h/day, rapidly increased their rate of licking (within 4-6 min) when first tested with...