In an earlier attempt to detect biochemical changes in the prefrontal system of rats performing a task sensitive to prefrontal damage, significant changes in amount of synaptic proteins were found only in the prefrontal cortex and only in the yoked control group. In a similar experimental paradigm, we measured presently activity of tyrosine hydroxylase in several telencephalic formations and in...

Retrograde neuronal tracing and immunohistochemical methods were used to define the neurochemical content of sympathetic neurons projecting to the sow retractor clitoridis muscle (RCM). Differently from the other smooth muscles of genital organs, the RCM is an isolated muscle that is tonically contracted in the rest phase and relaxed in the active phase. This peculiarity makes it an interesting...

Methylphenidate (MPD) is a commonly administered drug to treat children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Alterations in septal driven hippocampal theta rhythm may underlie attention deficits observed in these patients. Amongst others, the septo-hippocampal connections have long been acknowledged to be important in preserving hippocampal function. Thus, we wanted t...

Stereological analysis is the optimal tool for quantitative assessment of brain morphological and cellular changes induced by neurotoxic lesions or treatment interventions. Stereological methods based on random sampling techniques yield unbiased estimates of particle counts within a defined volume, thereby providing a true quantitative estimate of the target cell population. Neurodegenerative d...

We report that the zebrafish mutation soulless, in which the development of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic (NA) neurons failed to occur, disrupts the homeodomain protein Phox2a. Phox2a is not only necessary but also sufficient to induce Phox2b+ dopamine-beta-hydroxylase+ and tyrosine hydroxylase+ NA neurons in ectopic locations. Phox2a is first detected in LC progenitors in the dorsal anter...

Pheochromocytoma tyrosine hydroxylase was reported to have unusual catalytic properties, which might be unique to the tumor enzyme (Dix, T. A., Kuhn, D. M., and Benkovic, S. J. (1987) Biochemistry 24, 3354-3361). Two such properties, namely the apparent inability to hydroxylate phenylalanine and an unprecedented reactivity with hydrogen peroxide were investigated further in the present study. T...

Membrane-permeable derivatives of cyclic AMP (cAMP) produced concentration-dependent increases in activity of tyrosine hydroxylase (L-tyrosine, tetrahydropteridine:oxygen oxidoreductase (3-hydroxylating), EC 1.14.16.2) in membrane-limited nerve endings (synaptosomes) prepared from three regions of rat brain. Increased hydroxylation occurred even after preincubation and removal of dibutyryl cycl...

BACKGROUND Apium graveolens L. is a traditional Chinese medicine prescribed as a treatment for hypertension, gout, and diabetes. This study aimed to determine the neuroprotective effects of A. graveolens extract against a Parkinson's disease (PD) model induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in C57BL/6 mice. METHODS Male C57BL/6 mice treated with MPTP were orally dosed ...

Parkinson disease is characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. We explored the neuroprotective effect of Selegiline and Piribedil, the Monoamine Oxidase Type B (MAO-B) and dopamine agonist to Parkinson disease (PD). After embryonic Wistar rat were induced by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from PD patients, Selegiline and Piribedil were administered to ...