The present study was undertaken to investigate the beneficial effects of Atorvastatin and Simvastatin in cognitive dysfunctions of rats. Alprazolam, Scopolamine and high fat diet (HFD) induced amnesia served as interoceptive memory models where as, Water-maze and Elevated plus-maze served as exteroceptive models. A total of 38 groups of rats were used in this investigation. Escape latency time...

Background and Objective: The medicinal plant Origanum vulgare. subsp. vulgare in the Lamiaceae family has been widely used by Iranian people for the treatment of respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurologic disorders. The present study was carried out to evaluate possible anxiolytic effects of aqueous extract of O. vulgare leaves and the flowering branches in rats.Materials and Methods: Anxiol...

The present study examined the effects of administering selective 5-HT antagonists and agonists to rats tested in the elevated zero-maze (EZM) model of anxiety. The EZM paradigm has advantages over the elevated plus-maze (EPM) paradigm with respect to measuring anxiety, yet has been utilized less frequently. Three experiments were conducted each with a diazepam control (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 mg/kg...

The influence of biologically active compounds on the functional state central nervous system and emotional component in rats can be evaluated by using behavioral methods, which are based studying exploratory behavior animals an environment new to them. One such method is study animal elevated cross-shaped maze with open closed arms Porsolt "despair" test. aim our was investigate offspring trea...

In the current investigation rhizome of Zingiber officinale and leaf Ocimum sanctum were extracted using ethanol-water (70:30) anti-amnesic potential combined extracts was evaluated in experimental model. The extraction yield hydroalcoholic mixture found to be 10.4 % for 17.7 sanctum. Preliminary phytochemical analysis suggested presence alkaloids, saponin glycosides, phenolics, terpenoids, fla...

As our understanding of the underlying defects in fragile X syndrome (FXS) increases so does the potential for development of treatments aimed at modulating the defects and ameliorating the constellation of symptoms seen in patients. Symptoms of FXS include cognitive disability, hyperactivity, autistic behaviour, seizures and learning deficits. Lithium is a drug used clinically to treat bipolar...

The role of GABAB receptors in various behavioral processes has been largely defined using the prototypical GABAB receptor agonist baclofen. However, baclofen induces sedation, hypothermia and muscle relaxation, which may interfere with its use in behavioral paradigms. Although there is much evidence for a role of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the pathophysiology of anxiety, the role ...

The current tests of anxiety in mice and rats used in preclinical research include the elevated plus-maze (EPM) or zero-maze (EZM), the light/dark box (LDB), and the open-field (OF). They are currently very popular, and despite their poor achievements, they continue to exert considerable constraints on the development of novel approaches. Hence, a novel anxiety test needs to be compared with th...

Exposure to prenatal stress (PS) can predispose individuals to the development of psychopathology later in life. We examined the effects of unpredictable chronic mild stress (CMS) exposure during adolescence on a background of PS in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. PS induced more anxiety-like behavior in the elevated zero maze in both sexes, an effect that was normalized by subsequent expo...

Although maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy is a well-documented risk factor for a variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes, how prenatal cigarette smoke exposure affects postnatal neurobehavioral/cognitive development remains poorly defined. In order to investigate the cause of an altered behavioral phenotype, mice developmentally exposed to a paradigm of 'active' maternal cigarette smok...