This review focuses on factors influencing behaviour in the elevated plus-maze, the holeboard and the social transmission of food preference. The elevated plus-maze provides independent measures of anxiety (percentage of time spent on open arms) and activity (number of closed arm entries) and can be used in both males and females. Important sex differences emerge in factor loadings, and, wherea...

Recurrent hypoglycemia (RH) is a common and debilitating side effect of therapy in patients with both type 1 and, increasingly, type 2 diabetes. Previous studies in rats have shown marked effects of RH on subsequent hippocampal behavioral, metabolic, and synaptic processes. In addition to impaired memory, patients experiencing RH report alterations in cognitive processes that include mood and a...

We evaluated the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of the aqueous extract of the bark of Tapinanthus dodoneifolius (TAE) (Danser) (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg), using open field, elevated plus maze, and forced swimming tests. Effect of TAE was compared to standard drugs diazepam (2 mg/kg) and imipramine (10 mg/kg). Additionally, the same doses of TAE were evaluated on rat's memory using Y-maze ta...

Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a tryptophan metabolite that is synthesized and released by astrocytes and acts as a competitive antagonist of the glycine site of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors at high concentrations and as a noncompetitive antagonist of the alpha7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at low concentrations. The discovery of increased cortical KYNA levels in schizophrenia prompted the hypo...

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent non-communicable neurologic diseases leading to significant disability and mortality. Complaints of impaired learning and memory are common in patients of epilepsy. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may further enhance this impairment. So the present study was carried out on albino rats to evaluate the effect of AEDs on learning and memory. Objective: ...

BACKGROUND Preclinical evidence suggests that commonly used anesthetic agents induce long-lasting neurobehavioral changes when administered early in life, but there has been virtually no attention to the neurodevelopmental consequences for the fetus of maternal anesthesia. This study tested the hypothesis that fetal rats exposed to isoflurane during maternal anesthesia on gestational day 14, wh...

Daucus carota Linn. commonly known as “carrot" belongs to the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) and is cultivated almost all over the world as a useful vegetable. Carrot is widely consumed as an aphrodisiac and nervine tonic and its scraped root is used as a local stimulant for indolent ulcers. In light of the above, the present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of D. carota seeds on...