Interaction with the gamma-aminobutyric-acid-type-A (GABAA) receptors is recognized as an important component of the mechanism of propofol, a sedative-hypnotic drug commonly used as anesthetic. However the contribution of GABAA receptors to the central nervous system suppression is still not well understood, especially in the thalamocortical network. In the present study, we investigated if int...

The effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on neuronal firing rate in rat suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) slices was examined using continuous recording methods. GABA inhibited neuronal discharge during both the subjective day and the subjective night in a concentration-dependent manner characterized by two apparent affinity states. The GABAA receptor agonist muscimol caused potent inhibition r...

Kampo medicine is a form of Japanese phytotherapy originating from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). During the last several decades, much attention has been paid to the pharmacological effects of these medical plants and their constituents. However, in many cases, a systematic screening of Kampo remedies to determine pharmacologically relevant targets is still lacking. In this study, a broad...

Objective: Argemone mexicana is a Papaveracea plant; some reports have shown their antibacterial, anti-cancer, sedative and probably anti-anxiety properties. From their aerial parts, flavonoids and alkaloids have been isolated, which are intrinsically related to some actions on the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiolytic-like effects of the plant, using its ...

Experiments using in-vivo microdialysis methods were conducted to investigate whether blood pressure changes cause an alteration in the release of noradrenaline (NA) in the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and whether the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor mechanism is involved in the modulation of the pressure response-induced alteration in the NA release. In urethane-anesthetized male rats, in...

In the present study, the effects of different doses of nicotine on immobility time in mice were tested. Intraperitioneal administration of low doses of nicotine (0.025 mg/kg) decreased, but higher doses (0.8 and 1 mg/kg) increased immobility time. The anti-immobility response induced by low doses of nicotine was inhibited by high doses of the D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride, the central nicot...

It has been shown that GABAA receptor blockade in the dorsomedial and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei (DMH and VMH, respectively) induces elaborated defensive behavioural responses accompanied by antinociception, which has been utilized as an experimental model of panic attack. Furthermore, the prelimbic (PL) division of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) has been related to emotional reactio...

background: ketamine is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic which produces dissociation anesthesia, analgesia, and amnesia. the mechanism of ketamine-induced synaptic inhibition in high-level cortical areas is still unknown. we aimed to elucidate the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on the glutamatergic synaptic transmission of the neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex b...

conclusions we observed acceptable results regarding both efficacy and safety with 62.5 mg of bosentan, twice daily in this group of patients. further clinical trials investigating pah with lower dosages of bosentan may be warranted. results no adverse drug reaction was observed during the follow-up. clinical worsening occurred in six (14%) patients, at least one year after treatment, two of th...

Purpose Accumulating evidence indicates that hypothalamic kisspeptin plays a pivotal role in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. In this study, the direct action of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor agonist on kisspeptin-expressing neuronal cells was examined. Methods A hypothalamic cell model of rat hypothalamic cell line R8 (rHypoE8) cells and primary...