Mice lacking functional neurokinin-1 receptors (NK1R-/-) display behavioural abnormalities resembling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): locomotor hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattentiveness. The preferred ligand for NK1R, substance P, is metabolised by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), which forms part of the brain renin angiotensin system (BRAS). In view of evidence that t...

We investigated the effects of exogenous corticosterone on the locomotor activity of captive red-eared slider turtles, Trachemys scripta elegans. An increase in plasma corticosterone often increases locomotor activity in mammals and birds, but there are no reported findings for turtles. In this study turtles implanted with corticosterone-filled Silastic((R)) implants showed a significant increa...

The objective of the current study was to determine whether prenatal iron deficiency induced during gestation in guinea pigs affected locomotor activity and learning and memory processes in the progeny. Dams were fed either iron-deficient anemic or iron-sufficient diets throughout gestation and lactation. After weaning, all pups were fed an iron-sufficient diet. On postnatal day 24 and 40, the ...

Introduction: Ethanol is considered as an effective agent in reducing brain stroke injury. In this study, we assessed the effects of modafinil along with ethanol as a combination therapy on behavioral function in Wistar rats. Methods: The right Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) was performed and the rats were divided into nine groups (n=8 per group). The animal groups in this study were ...

Phencyclidine (PCP), a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, increases locomotor activity in rodents and causes schizophrenia-like symptoms in humans. Although activation of the dopamine (DA) pathway is hypothesized to mediate these effects of PCP, the precise mechanisms by which PCP induces its effects remain to be elucidated. The present study investigated the effect...

Although hyperkinesis is expressed in several neurological disorders, the biological basis of this phenotype is unknown. The mouse mutant coloboma (Cml+) exhibits profound spontaneous locomotor hyperactivity resulting from a deletion mutation. This deletion encompasses several genes including Snap, which encodes SNAP-25, a nerve terminal protein involved in neurotransmitter release. Administrat...

Animal studies have proved useful in establishing the actual development of tolerance to nicotine, the magnitude of such tolerance, and mechanisms that underlie this tolerance. The majority of these studies have used the rat and mouse as experimental subjects. Most of the chronic tolerance studies using the rat have focused on the effects of nicotine on locomotor activity. Depression of locomot...

Investigations on the effects of the 5-HT agonists and antagonists on the phase of the circadian locomotor activity rhythm of animals kept in constant light conditions (LL) are rare. Therefore the influence of R-(+)-OH-DPAT (5-HT1A receptors agonist) and metergoline (5-HT1/2/7 receptors antagonist) on the phase shift of the locomotor-activity rhythm alone and when combined with dark pulses in m...

There have been no reports on how the light-dark changes determine the locomotor activity of animals in the group of high reactivity (HR) and low reactivity (LR). In the present study we have compared selected parameters of the locomotor activity of the HR and the LR groups of the laboratory opossums and Wistar rats during consecutive, light and dark phases in the open field test. Sixty male Wi...